Education
by AtlasOrion
Summary: She never wanted to attend Waterloo Road, but something kept her there. And the time she spent there changed her forever. Told from the point of view of a female student. Between seires 3-5.
1. Chapter 1

Waterloo Road. Waterloo Road was not a school the average mother would be proud to send their children to. But in many cases, there was never much of a choice. It wasn't a school for the particularly wealthy or intelligent, but it was a school none the less, and a school which took on the more difficult teenagers that other schools would almost certainly reject.

So it came as a surprise to both the students and the staff when a wealthy local business man and his wife decided to enrol their 15 year old daughter. It was no secret that they were happy about it, a child with her academic background could only do the school good, though they couldn't understand why they had chosen to enrol her there.

But when the new term in September rolled around and the doors were open once again she arrived along with the rest of the students, much to the surprise of the staff, who had half expected her to be another no show. They'd had plenty of parents considering enrolling their children, then changing their minds once they had taken the tour of the school and seen its diverse array of students and staff.

She was driven to the school by her parents, who wanted to make sure she arrived in one piece.

'See, it doesn't look that bad' Her mother said, smiling from the front passenger seat and turning around to look at the teen, sat slouching in the back of the car, listening to her iPod so loud that both of her parents could hear the music almost perfectly.

'What?' she asked, pulling her headphones out and stuffing the iPod into her bag as they turned into the car park. Around them students were making their way inside with their friends, laughing and joking. Some of them couples, other groups of friends and some individuals. Some of the older boys were playing football on the field and one girl was holding up a mirror for her friend, who was pulling curlers out of her hair.

'I said' her mother repeated, sounding less cheery than she had a moment before 'It doesn't look that bad'

'Oh' she replied, glancing out of the window at the number of pupils watching her parents' car driving in. It hadn't been hard to tell that from the surrounding area that this wasn't a place of considerable wealth, and from the glances of the passing students, she could tell the expensive car her father drove was impressive 'yeah I guess' she mumbled, uninterested.

Her mother sighed and rolled her eyes, turning her attentions to the front of the car where they had finally parked by the front doors and the head was waiting to meet them, making her way down the steps towards them, smiling.

Her parents stepped out of the car and greeted the women, then looked around, expecting to find their daughter behind them. Her father frowned and opened the door of the car.

She looked up at him 'Out' he said firmly, pointing outside of the car 'Now'

She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car, kicking the door shut behind her and lazily hitching her back up onto her shoulder. Her mother shot her an impatient look.

'So this is Weslie then' the brunette woman said holding her hand out. Weslie took the hand and shook it quickly.

'This is she' her mother said, her hand on her daughters shoulder 'I'm afraid she isn't overly enthusiastic about moving to a new school' she said, squeezing her shoulder a little harder than perhaps necessary.

'Not to worry' the woman said, still smiling 'it's not easy being new I know, I was the new face in the staff room just last year, I know how difficult it can be' she smiled 'My name's Rachel Mason, I'm the head here and I'm going to take you for a quick tour around the school and then to your first class, how does that sound?' she asked.

'Sure, why not' she mumbled, running her fingers through almost waist length black hair and pulling it forward over her right shoulder, letting it rest there and folding her arms over her chest.

'Great' she said, clapping her hands together and looking from Weslie to her parents 'well, thank you for bringing her down and I'll take it from here okay?'

Weslie's mother smiled and hugged her daughter briefly, wishing her good luck on her first day. Her father handed her two twenty pound notes and told her to behave before the two of them got back into the car and drove away as Weslie watched, her expression impassive.

'Well then' Miss Mason said 'let's get off then shall we'

Weslie looked up at her still smiling, and nodded once.

*

'And this is our canteen. You can eat in here if you'll be eating school meals or if you're bringing your own lunch with you' the head said as they walked past the double doors and looked in through the windows. It was the same as any canteen, full of plain tables and chairs, a few vending machines, racks for used dishes and a serving counter. Same old.

Weslie nodded and said nothing as they kept walking, past classroom after classroom, all filled with quietly working students. Every once in a while they'd pass an empty room, or one noisy with scenes being acted out from Shakespeare books or musical instruments being played.

'Any questions?' she asked as they walked.

Weslie shook her head 'No, thank you' she said with a small smile.

'Right, well in that case lets go to my office and get your timetable and we'll get you to your first class' she said, with yet another smile. She was a nice woman, kind, and patient. But Weslie didn't want to be here, and no amount of niceties would change that. All she wanted to do now was get to her first class and hopefully get the day over with quickly.

It was only the second period of the morning and she had decided she didn't like the place much. She'd spent the entire first period with Miss Mason, touring the school and had met a few other members of staff. When the bell had rung for the end of first period the corridors of the school had come alive with hurried bustling students and she had to virtually fight to keep herself from being swept into the current of chattering teenagers.

But for now the corridors were empty and she was desperate to get to her first lesson and stop being the shiny new attraction.

Once they were in her office she was talked through the timing of the school days and was given her timetable, then walked to her first lesson of the day, English. But when they got to the door of her classroom, the head was called away by one of the other members of staff and had to leave before she could take Weslie inside, though she had already had a quiet word with the teacher, an older man by the name of Mr Budgen, about his new student 'I'm sorry Weslie, I'm going to have to go sort something out, I'm sure you can manage by yourself now' she said with a smile. Weslie nodded and Miss Mason smiled, before hurrying up.

She knocked on the door quietly 'Yes, yes come in' a voice from inside droned miserably. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Inside were about 30 students of her own age, sitting behind desks with work books open in front of them. All eyes turned to her and she glared back.

'Aaah, fresh meat' Budgen said with a strange smile, ushering her to stand in front of the class 'This is your new classmate' he said, addressing the room 'For some reason her wealthy parents have seen fit to send her here instead of private school, hopefully you lot will scare her into a life of decent living' he droned, sounding utterly miserable 'Her name is Leslie so –'

'Weslie' she said, speaking up for the first time in ten minutes.

'Excuse me?' Mr Budgen asked, turning his attention to her.

'Weslie, it's my name' she explain, the class sniggered 'With a W, not an L. Weslie'

His face reddened and he stared her hard in the eye. She took an involuntary step backwards. He pointed to the empty seat at the back of the room behind two boys 'Sit' he growled 'now'

She suppressed a grin and scuttled off to the back of the classroom, taking a seat at the empty desk and taking the new workbook he handed to her, writing her name neatly on the front. If he was anything to go by, Waterloo Road was going to be eventful.


	2. Chapter 2

She spent the last twenty minutes of the lesson sat quietly at the back of the room observing the rest of the class at work. It was clear that Mr Budgen wasn't very gifted at coping with a rowdy classroom, but she also suspected he wasn't too bothered about it either.

Most of the class weren't paying him any attention at all. Two girls sitting near the front of the room, one a pale skinned redhead and the other dark skinned, were both reading a glassy magazine under the desk, chatting quietly about the articles. Not long after Weslie had taken her seat, the red haired girl had turned around and given her a friendly smile and wave, which she returned.

At the front of the class was the only pupil Weslie could see that was actually paying any attention. She was a plain girl with just past shoulder length brown hair and was giving Mr Budgen rant her full attention, though he was completely ignoring her any time she raised her hand to answer or ask a question.

The two boys in front of her were never sat still, constantly fidgeting and throwing rolled up paper. One of the boys, a tall dark skinned boy was throwing things at a dark girl with straight brown hair sitting three seats in front of him. The other boy, who had longish brown hair had a thick Leeds accent and was very good at answering back.

Weslie felt both a sense of relief and dread when the bell finally rang to signal the end of the lesson. The idea of being out in the crowded corridors was frightening enough, and now it was break time, and she didn't much like the idea of being alone in the corridors for the next fifteen minutes where most eyes would be definitely on her.

She packed her back slowly as she could, hoping to waste as much time as possible and started to follow the two boys out of the classroom. The boys were messing about, shoving each other and laughing, she doubted whether either of them had noticed that it was just the three of them in the room now, Mr Budgen having made a break for the door as soon as the bell had sounded. The taller boy shoved his friend and he stumbled backwards into Weslie, knocking her down.

She fell backwards and landed on her backside, hitting her head on the edge of the table she had just been sat on. She swore quietly and pressed her hand to her head, feeling herself go dizzy and seeing stars for a moment.

'Oh shit, sorry' the shorter boy said, bending to help her to her feet and picking up her bag.

'Don't worry about it' she mumbled as the other boy grabbed her other elbow and they both picked her up. She started to rub the back of her head once she was back on her feet, she was only a petite girl and the boys picked her up easily 'are you alright man?' the taller boy asked, brushing dirt off her blazer with his hand.

'Yeah, yeah I'm fine' she said with a weak smile, she now wanted to be in the school even less than she had when her parents had dropped her off. Not only was she the new girl, she now had them feeling sorry for her.

'Is it cut?' the smaller one asked, moving around to look at the back of her head, brushing her hair out of the way. She wished they wouldn't fuss over her.

'No, I think it's okay' she said smiling and blushing ever so slightly.

'Well, sorry about that' he said again, smiling cheekily and moving aside to let her walk out of the classroom between him and his friend.

'No really, it's fine' she assured him, crossing her arms over her chest and walking out in front of him. She screwed up her face once neither boy could see her and secretly hoped the ground would open her up and swallow her whole, her first day wasn't going anywhere nearly as smooth as she would've liked, and she cursed her parents once again.

What ever had possessed them to send her here, she couldn't imagine. Not when all her siblings were still at their very expensive private school. Sure she'd misbehaved a few times, gotten herself into trouble, even suspended from school, but did she really deserve to be sent to a public school? Especially one with the reputation this one held.

She had always slightly resented her father for his approach to parenting; throw money at the problem and hope it goes away, pretend it isn't there. But she was now wishing he had taken that approach this time, instead of siding with her mother.

She knew exactly why they had done it; they hoped the Waterloo Road students would scare some sense into her, stop her from misbehaving. They thought she wouldn't survive a week before she came running back to them, begging to be sent back to her private school, but she was determined not to let them win this one, and so had resolved to see it through.

'So you're the new kid' the shorter one said, breaking her train of thought. She smiled at his accent and how much it stood out in the middle of Rochdale.

'I guess I am' she said as he caught up to walk beside her and his friend slowed down to walk on her other side down the packed corridor.

'Nice man' his friend said 'Are your parents minted then?' he asked bluntly.

She laughed aloud and nodded her head, his friend exclaimed 'Bolton!'

'I suppose they are' she said, slightly embarrassed 'is your name actually Bolton?' she asked, dumbfounded.

'Yeah, it is. Bolton Smilie' he said proudly, puffing his chest out.

His friend laughed 'As in named after the town he was conceived in' she laughed loudly for a minute then looked at him and saw he was being serious 'I'm Paul' he added with a cheeky grin. She noticed he was perfect straight, white teeth.

'Weslie' she said with a nod to each of them. T

'Not Leslie' Bolton said, laughing again.

'Oh god' she cringed, hiding her face behind her hand and laughing along with the two boys either side of her 'That was awful, I thought he was going to kill me' she sniggered.

'Don't worry about him' Paul smirked, holding the door open for her, they walked out into a wider busy corridor and out through a pair of double doors to the school yard where most of the schools pupils were spending their break time 'He's like that with everyone'

'Thankfully' she smiled 'I don't need to be making any enemies on my first day'

'Nahh man' Bolton said, giving her shoulder a nudge with his own 'you're with us now'


	3. Chapter 3

She wasn't entirely sure what 'you're with us now' completely entailed, or how long it would last, maybe until she made friends with some of the girls? Or even until she had gotten used to the place and had settled in. But she was quite surprised to find herself still spending most of the school day with the boys a few weeks later. The three would meet up in the morning after Weslie's parents dropped her off near the school, spent their lessons together Weslie sitting either by them or next to one of them and spent all their free time in school together.

She had been at the school for over month and was still with the boys for the majority of the day. So when her father dropped her off outside of the gates one Wednesday morning, she wasn't surprised to find Paul leaning back against the fence, waiting for her. She was friends with and liked both boys, but she and Paul had bonded quickly and she was closer to the dark haired boy than she was to Bolton.

She got out of the car and kicked the door shut after her father had given her some money and warned her to behave and change her attitude. Ignoring him, she crossed her arms over her chest and walked to where Paul was waiting, smiling at her.

'Morning Weasel' he said in his familiar Leeds accent that she'd quickly become fond of. He had started to call her Weasel during her first week at Waterloo Road, after deciding it was too much like her name not to be a nickname. She wouldn't admit it, but she quite liked her nickname, anything was better than Weslie, it made her sound like a stuck up posh kid from prep school, and she definitely didn't want to be labelled as the 'posh kid'

'Morning Langley' she smirked, linking her arm in his as they started to walk in through the school gates 'Where's Bolton?' she asked, looking around the horde of chattering teenagers on their way inside. She waved to Danielle and Aleesha as they passed, arms linked together and watching a group of year eleven boys.

'I dunno' he said, she smirked at the way it sounded in his accent 'He said something about basketball with Dom before he ran off'

'Oh' she said, mocking dejected 'didn't decide to wait for my beautiful self then?' she asked.

Paul laughed and shook his head 'Doesn't look like it, but I waited' he said with a wide, proud smile. She smiled and shook her head, he reminded her momentarily of a puppy wanting praise for peeing outside, she had an urge to tickle him behind the ears, and he probably wouldn't mind either.

'You always do' she smiled back, resting her head on his shoulder for a second and squeezing his arm in a sort of half hug 'so, who've we got first?' she asked, rummaging in her bag for her timetable with her free hand.

'Errr, Lawson I think' Paul said, creasing his eyebrows for a moment as he remembered.

She groaned and rolled her eyes as they walked up the steps and in through the doors, pushing their way through the mass of students all stood around, talking to their friends. They fought their way through and out to the English corridor, making their way to their form tutors room 'Not Lawson' she mumbled once he could hear her again over the chatter of the pupils 'he's a pain in the arse'

'I know, but what can you do eh' he said, holding the door to Miss Koreshi's room open for her, finding most of the rest of their form already inside and sitting down.

'Go to a better school I supposed' she grumbled, pulling her face as they took their usual seats at the back of the room.

'You don't like it here?' he asked sliding into the seat beside her. At the front of the room Miss Koreshi had taken the register out and was starting to call their names out.

'It's okay I guess' she said 'I'm just not used to it, I went to a private school before here'

'So why did they take you out and send you here then?' Paul asked, leaning forward to look her in the face, she didn't look happy.

'Because I can't behave –here Miss' she said as Miss Koreshi called out her full name; Weslie Connor 'they said I needed to experience what real life is like for people less fortunate than us, so they sent me to this dump' she said, gesturing to the room around her 'load of bollocks' she added.

'It's not all bad though right?' he said with a cheeky smile, she looked sideways at him and couldn't help but smile at the daft expression on his face 'I mean, you met me and Bolton, that can't be bad'

She laughed aloud and nodded her head, sitting back in her seat and smiling to him 'No way, that's definitely not bad Paul, promise' she assured him.

*

'Weslie?, Weslie?!' a voice called as Weslie, Paul and Bolton made their way down the corridor towards the canteen, hoping to find something worthwhile on the days menu, Wes hadn't had any breakfast and was desperate for something hot and filling.

The three of them turned and saw Tom Clarkson jogging down the hall to them 'Yeah?' she said once he caught up.

'Weslie, I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining the girls' football team?' he asked, walking beside them. She looked sideways to her friends, both of them giving her puzzled looks; Bolton looked to be on the verge of laughter.

'Umm, I dunno, I never thought about it' she said turning back to him after giving Bolton a dirty look.

'Well you should, I reckon you'd be pretty good' Clarkson said.

'I don't know sir, I don't know how much ball experience she's got' Bolton sniggered as him and Paul started laughing.

'Oh har har' she said, elbowing Paul in the ribs 'I forgot just how rib crackingly hilarious you two are' she said dryly.

'What?' Paul said, feigning innocence, an act that didn't fool her 'you can't play football, you're all …' he looked her up and down '..girly' he finished after a pause.

'Oi, I'll have you know I'm ace at sports' she spat back.

'Exactly' Mr Clarkson chipped in 'which is exactly why you should join the team. Or at least come to one of the training sessions, try it out eh?'

She looked back at her friends, both still sniggering and shaking their heads, they clearly both doubted her. She knew they were only playing, having fun, but it still bothered her a little 'Yeah, yeah I will actually, count me in' she said, smiling to Clarkson.

'Great!' he said grinning wildly 'that's fantastic, today after school, half three, don't be late!' he warned her as he turned to leave.

'No way man, you're too posh to be playing footy' Bolton said once they were alone again. She grimaced, she hated the 'p' word.

'Well I guess I'll just have to prove you wrong Smilie' she smirked.


	4. Chapter 4

'I actually don't know why I agreed to this football lark' Weslie grumbling, sitting in the front seat of the car as her older sister Amelia drove her back to school.

'Well duh' she said, her hands on the wheel and a smirk on her face 'to impress some boys obviously'

'Oh yeah' she said rolling her eyes 'because I'm really the begging-for-attention type'

Amelia laughed aloud, and shook her head 'Well you must be doing it for some reason' she smiled. Weslie gave her sister a disgruntled glance. Though she wasn't completely impressed with her sister, they got on well. They were two of six Connor children. Amelia being the oldest at 22, next was Tom at 19, then came Weslie, twin girls Sophie and Jessica at 11 and then 5 year old James.

'I'm only doing it because Paul and Bolton said I couldn't' she retorted, her fingers laced into her hair and her elbow rested on the open window, watching houses pass by the window.

'You're far too stubborn Wes' she said.

'Yes, I know' Weslie said, smirking at her sister as they turned into the school car park.

'Oh, looks like they're waiting for you' Amelia said. She was right; Mr Clarkson and a dozen or so other girls were already out on the playing field. They were running laps, warming up. She rolled her eyes when she noticed Paul and Bolton were sitting on the steps of the changing room doors with a few other boys, watching the girls and talking amongst themselves.

They looked over as she stepped out of the car and chorused 'ooohh' when they saw her in her sports gear.

'Come on Weslie, you're late!' Mr Clarkson called from the field.

'Sorry Mr Clarkson!' she called back 'I didn't have any kit with me; I had to go home and get changed'

'Well you're here now, get over here and start some laps' he said, turning away and back to the other girls. She nodded and shot the boys an evil glare as they were sniggering at her and opened the back door of the car.

She reached in for her phone and keys, but just missed the collar as the huge Alaskan dog came bounding out of the door and started to run excitedly around the school field, she grabbed his lead from the backseat quickly and kicked the door shut. Most of the girls screamed and scattered, the boys roared with laughter and mixed fear as he ran towards them, and Mr Clarkson attempted to restore order as Amelia turned the car around and drove away, laughing to herself.

'Weslie!' Clarkson hollered again 'what the hell is this?' he asked as the girls cowered in a group together, but began to relax.

'Sorry sir, he needs to stay with me' she said apologetically, running across the field with the lead in her hand 'there's no one at home, and he doesn't like to be alone' she explained as 'Stotch come!' she shouted at the dog, her voice was steady, firm and slightly menacing. The dog turned and ran to her immediately, and let her clip the lead to his collar.

'I swear he isn't dangerous sir, and he's well behaved and I wouldn't have brought him with me if it wasn't after school hours' she explained, with a pleading smile, the dog panting beside her.

He eyed the dog 'Alright, but keep him out of the way' he warned her.

She beamed 'I will sir, promise' and took hold of the lead, taking the dog to where the boys where.

'He, is _huge_!' Paul exclaimed, wide eyed as she approached.

'Oh he's harmless' she smiled, passing him her keys and phone 'hold them for me?'

'Is it a husky?' Bolton asked, warily holding his hand out for the dog to sniff. He sniffed Bolton for a moment, watching him with his beady black eyes and nudged his hand, asking to be stroked after he had decided he trusted Bolton.

'No, he's an Alaskan malamute and his name is Stotch, not 'it' ' she said, handing Paul the end of the lead as Bolton nodded and tickled the dog behind the ears.

'Whoa!' Paul exclaimed, still wide eyed and staring at the lead in his hands like it was a bomb about to explode at any moment 'What are you giving me this for?' he asked.

'Just watch him for me won't you?' she asked.

He gave her a sceptical look, eyeing the dog as warily as it had been eyeing Bolton just minutes before 'Weslie! Come on! You're wasting time!' Clarkson called.

'I'm on my way!' she shouted back, turning back to Paul and clasping her hands together.

'Please Paul? I'll owe you, big time' she begged, giving him the pleading eyes. He looked at her, unsure. She grabbed his hand '_Please_ Paul'

'Fine, okay' he said, slipping the handle of the lead over his wrist of the hand that already held her phone and keys. She beamed and gave him a quick hug 'Thank you! I'll make it up to you, promise' she assured him, before running towards the field and joining the other girls doing laps.

It was almost five o'clock by the time they were finished and the other girls had either changed or stuffed their uniforms in their bags and left. She had recognised a few of the girls she had been playing with, Aleesha and Danielle and some of the older girls, Janeece, Maxine and Chlo. The others, she hadn't met, but now knew by name.

They had practiced hard. After half an hour of practising simple passes and dribbling, they tried their hand at some tackles, and then spent the last 20 minutes of the practice playing a game of 5 a-side. Danielle had been in goal, but was majorly scared of the ball and screamed and cowered whenever it came towards her. Maxine played well up front and kept the team together. It ended 7-4 to Maxine's side.

After the match was over, she went back to the boys and took Stotch from Paul. The dog was sat at his feet, wagging his tail and chewing on an apple one of the other lads had given to him.

'Has he been good?' she asked, kneeling down to stroke him under the chin.

'Yeah man, he's cool' Bolton said 'I like him'

She smiled and stood up, the dog getting up with her. He was a good size, coming up to her hip, with a wide back and huge paws. He had always reminded her of a bear. Paul and Bolton got up with her, said goodbye to the others and the three of them left.

'You were alright out there man' Bolton said as they walked through the Waterloo estate together, taking their time.

'Yeah, not bad at all, I was impressed' Paul agreed.

She smiled and laughed 'Well, I dare say I told you so' she said cheekily.

Bolton gave her shoulder a play punch that still almost sent her arm dead 'Shut up man! You could've at least said thanks'

'Alright, alright, thanks' she said, rubbing her shoulder and frowning.

They walked for a short while and stopped off at a chip shop for chips. Bolton was walking Stotch and was giving him every other chip from the plastic carton in his other hand. After a short while, Bolton left them and headed his own way home and Weslie and Bolton carried on walking.

'So, who was that dropping you off?' he asked, hands in pockets, his bag hanging lazily off his arms.

'My sister Mia'

'She your only sister?' he asked.

She laughed aloud and shook her head 'No' she said, still laughing 'I'm one of six' she said, before listing her other siblings and their names and ages.

'Wow' Paul said once she was finished.

'Do you have any brothers or sisters?' she asked him.

He shook his head 'Just me' he sighed 'No family'

'None at all?' she asked, feeling a little sad.

'Well there's my Uncle Dermot' he explained with a weird, slightly bitter smile 'but he's in a mental health institute'

'Oh' she mumbled 'I'm sorry'

'Don't be' he smiled when she rubbed his arm in a friendly way 'it's the best place for him' She smiled and decided not to press the matter any further. She wanted to ask him where his parents where, but they had only been friends for 5 weeks, and she felt she had no right to ask him something so personal so soon into a friendship.

They talked whilst they walked until they came to the road at which they would part.

'See you tomorrow then?' he asked as they stopped and he gave the dog a stroke on the head.

'Yeah, tomorrow. Bye' she smiled, and left.


	5. Chapter 5

Surprisingly, Weslie stuck with the football training and earned herself a place in the team within two and half months. The team were working harder than ever; with the thought of their first ever match looming ever nearer with every practice session they finished. They weren't the best team in the world, they weren't even the best in the area, but they were determined to come out of this match with their heads held high.

But before they could even think of playing the match, they needed new kits. Tom had already asked Rachel if she could find the money in the school budget, but with the new interactive boards having been just installed, and the school lunch menu having been revamped, the budget was stretched as far as it could possibly go and she just couldn't find the funding. So Tom had sent the girls out with the task of raising as much money as they could, in whichever way they saw fit, within the boundaries of the law of course, as soon as possible.

The first place Weslie went; her parents.

'Daaaad?' she called as she walked into the office, where as usual her father was going over some papers, what they were this time she neither knew nor cared.

'Yes?' he said suspiciously, looking up at her, he knew that tone _very _well.

She sat down on the arm of his chair and pretended to look interested in his work. He looked up at her sceptically, this act didn't fool him, he knew when all of his babies were after something. He smiled and put the paper down, leaning back in his chair.

'What do you want?' he asked, stilling smiling at her.

Her jaw dropped 'Me? Want something? Oh no, you mistake me for the twins, I just want to spend time with my wonderful father' she smiled, batting her eyelids.

He rolled his eyes 'And like I said, what do you want?'

She slid her way onto his lap 'I'll cut the crap and get to the chase pops, I don't wanna waste your time, you don't wanna waste mine and there's really no need beating around the bush when we have business to attend to' he raised an eyebrow, the girl could talk herself off death row 'I need some cash'

'How much?'

She took a breath in '500'

He gasped 'Jeeze Wes, what do you need that for?! You spend enough money on clothes in a week as it is, you can't possibly need any more'

'Technically I guess it is clothing, but not just for me' she explained.

'Oh so we're clothing others now? What's next, feeding the five thousand?' he asked sarcastically, he was liking the sound of this less and less every second.

She laughed dryly and muttered 'cause you don't make a boat load of cash a month as it is' he pretended not to hear her. He worked hard for that money, she knew that, but he wasn't always as generous with it as he perhaps could or should be. She knew running a home and parenting so many children was costly, that was without Tom's university fees and all the animals they owned, but they were still very, _very_ comfortable.

'So what do you need it for then?' he asked after a pause during which they both considered their families financial position.

'We need kits, for the football team. We've got a game in a week and we haven't got anything to play in'

'And the school can't pay for them why?' he asked, surely it was their responsibility to do so.

'No cash apparently, spent it all on fancy boards' she said with a casual wave of her hand.

He sighed and considered it a moment. It shouldn't be his responsibility to buy them kits, the school should provide for things like this. But then again, they had spent their money on more important things, things that would benefit more students for a lot longer, and he knew how little money the schools were given these days. But most of all he knew how much it would mean to Weslie, and the happiness of his children was never something to be compromised.

'I can give you two fifty' he said, pulling is cheque book out of the top drawer on his desk and starting to scribble on it. He could easily afford to pay for their kits ten times over by himself, but he didn't want these kids to think everything in life came so easily, they, like his own children, needed to understand the value of money.

'Great!' she said clapping her hands together and standing over him as he wrote the cheque out, tucking it away in the back pocket of her jeans when he handed it to her 'Cheers dad, I'm gonna go let the girls know, later!' she said, turning and leaving. He laughed aloud, typical teen, so much for spending time with her father.

Weslie knocked lightly on the staff room door. Behind her Paul was deliberately messing up her perfectly straight hair, sniggering and she tried to elbow him, and Bolton was nudging him and trying to trip her up by nudging the back of her knee with his own.

'Will you two piss off!' she hissed angrily, spinning round to give them both threatening glares, just as the door open and they found themselves face to face with a less than impressed Grantly Budgen.

'What?' he snapped. The boys suppressed laughter.

'Is um, Mr Clarkson here sir?' Weslie asked as politely and as seriously as she could with the two clowns trying their hardest not to snigger behind her, Paul was attempting to pinch her side to make her flinch. Mr Budgen gave her another glare before turning back into the staff room, letting the door swing shut behind him. A moment later, Mr Clarkson appeared.

'What's up?' he asked, looking between the three of them.

Weslie smiled, she'd been excited to this all day. She held out the cheque 'My dad gave me this for the team' she said. He took it from her and unfolded it, then smiled as he read it.

'This is fantastic!' he said, looking back up and tucking it away in his top pocket 'Well done Wes, and make sure you tell your dad thanks from the team and me'

She nodded 'Yeah no problem, see you later Mr Clarkson'

The three left together 'How did you get him to give you that much?' Paul asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

She looked at him 'I asked him' she said simply.

Bolton exhaled loudly 'I wish it were that easy for me man' he said, running a hand across his almost bald head 'I'm lucky if I get a tenner a week'

Weslie looked away, feeling uncomfortable. She hated being the 'rich kid' at Waterloo Road, but a lot of the students there were from regular working class families. She muttered something about 'only did it for the team' and blushed red.

'You okay Weasel?' Paul asked, noticing the discomfort on her face.

She looked up and gave him her best fake smile 'Fine, just feel a little sick' she lied, she hated lying to them 'Lets go get some dinner, I haven't eaten yet today, probably why I'm feeling sick' Paul nodded and linked his arm in with hers. Bolton rolled his eyes and laughed at the two of them, nudging Weslie, who was in between the boys, with his shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

_I can't believe I haven't written an authors note to any of these chapters so far. So, hello __ thanks for your reviews so far and I hope you're enjoying. I like to keep my readers updated with what I'm doing/planning/thinking about my stories (without giving away too many details), so here goes._

_I'm considering a few possible storylines; I'm not entirely sure where I want this to go, though I have a vague idea. I have three or four in mind at the moment, I think two are more likely then the others, and maybe I'll do the together. If you've any suggestions on what you'd like/want to happen, I'm more than happy to listen. I love suggestions; a different view can only be good. Also, I am fully aware that Rimmer was head at this point, I just didn't want to go into the whole Rimmer thing, I'd rather just stick with Mason, and we all know we prefer her. _

_Finally, I'm having trouble separating the different sections of my stories, to get across the time difference between 'scenes' if you will. For some reason, the site isn't allowing me to use the little stars or a hyphen and leaving extra line space isn't working either, so I'm going to have to figure out another way to resolve this problem, if anyone else has found a way around it, let me know please. _

The team managed to raise the money in time thanks to Maxine and Janeece going out into the local area and fund raising. Most of the team had also gone out to raise money, but it was those two who had gathered the majority of donations and had well over £200 in their bucket when they got back to the school.

Over all, the team had managed to raise almost £600 pounds between them, the donation from Weslie father making up a large part of that, and Mr Clarkson had been able to order them new kits a few days before the match was to be played and had arranged for them to be picked up by Maxine and Janeece on the day of the match.

When Weslie was dropped off at school that morning, she was feeling both nervous and excited, but couldn't keep the wide smirk off her face. There was a kind of electricity in the air and the atmosphere was buzzing, clearly the team weren't the only ones excited about the afternoon's game.

She was still smirking when she met the boys and the three of them walked in together. 'Come on Waterloo Road!' one of the younger kids called to her as she walked past. She laughed aloud and blushed, shouting it back to the young boy.

'This place is buzzing man!' Bolton exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. They walked over to the front door, where Janeece, Maxine and Sammine were practising football against the wall.

'Oi Wes!' Janeece called, kicking the ball to her, she stopped it with the underside of her foot and chipped it up to her knee, then onto her other knee and back down to her foot and away back to Janeece 'you ready for the match later?' the excitable shorter girl asked. Weslie couldn't help but like Janeece, though she was rather gobby, there was always a sense of fun around her, and she always had a smile on her face.

'Always' she replied confidently.

'Good' Maxine chipped in, she was another one Weslie liked 'Cause we're gonna SMASH 'EM! WHO ARE YA! WHO ARE YA! WHO ARE YA!' Janeece, Sammine and Weslie all joined in, getting louder and louder, more excited as they chanted.

'Alright girls, calm down!' Miss Mason called, laughing as she approached them, a wide smile on her face 'you all ready for the game?' she asked them.

'Definitely' Janeece said, picking the ball up 'they've got nothing on us'

'Fantastic!' Miss Mason beamed 'now inside, you've got a morning of lessons before the game' the girls grumbled their complaints 'Now, now come on' she said, shooing them inside. Weslie rejoined Paul and Bolton and the three of them joined the stream of students making their way inside.

They fought they way inside through all the other students and away down the art corridor, past Miss Campbell's room 'are you two coming watching us later?' she asked. She hoped they would, she'd feel less nervous if she knew her friends were there.

'Yeah of course' Paul said as if it were obvious 'wouldn't miss it' she smiled wildly

'A bunch of girls rolling around in the mud' Bolton smirked 'no way we're missing that' Paul laughed and nodded his agreement.

'Funny that is' she said quietly, as though she was pondering something 'no one told me I'd be participating in some soft core porn this afternoon'

'I wouldn't mind seeing some of the football team in some soft core porn, eh Paul?' Bolton said, winking and nudging his friend who was still nodding his agreement.

'You two are animals, you know that, right?' she informed them.

……

Everything ran smoothly throughout the morning until their first break arrived. Weslie was sat on the stairs by the canteen when Chlo came rushing towards her looking flustered.

'Weslie, the match has been cancelled' she gasped, catching her breath as she came to a halt in front of her, looking slightly red in the face and flustered, she had clearly ran the length of the yard to tell her.

Weslie leapt to her feet, outraged 'what?!' she demanded 'why?'

'Koreshi's put half the team in afterschool detention, we can't play with just six girls' she explained, running a hand through her hair and sighing deeply, exasperated.

'For being too loud in her lesson, we were getting excited for the match' she said regretfully.

'We? You mean you too Chlo?' she asked anxiously.

'All of us, Me, Janeece, Max, all the year 11's' she said.

'Oh fuck' Weslie groaned, dropping back down onto the steps behind her and dropping her head into her hands 'we're screwed'

'Can't you get out of it?' Bolton asked. Paul was watching Chlo as she started to pace, her hands on her head, wondering what she was going to do whilst he patted Weslie on the back absent mindedly.

'We've tried' Chlo said 'she's not budging, we're all in detention'

'Can't you get her to postpone the detention? Do it tomorrow or something?' Paul suggested.

'Tried that too, no way out of it' she said, shaking her head. Weslie groaned again but didn't raise her head, Chlo stayed for a moment longer before mumbling her goodbyes and leaving to find other members of the team to inform.

Weslie looked up from her hands slowly 'Brilliant … just brilliant' she spat bitterly.

……

Despite the minor set back, good news came and by lunchtime the girls were all in the changing rooms getting ready to spend the afternoon training for the match. There was a knock on the door and Mr Clarkson called 'are you decent?' before coming in and introducing the very unpopular Miss Koreshi as the new assistant coach to the team.

There was a collective groan around the room and Danielle muttered 'what does she want?' bitterly.

'Probably trying to get into everyone's good books, after nearly ruining the match' Weslie mumbled, Danielle and Aleesha nodded. He gathered the girls around and started to discuss tactics, opting for a 4-5-1 formation with Maxine up front with the hope of a 'lucky ball' as he put it.

'But why do you want us to play like a bunch of losers?' Maxine spat, unimpressed as the other girls groaned again.

'Because Mount View are last years champions, I don't want us to get thrashed out there' he explained.

'You'd think he had no faith in us at all' Wes noted as after a short disagreement and a change in tactics, the girls went out to train whilst Maxine and Janeece went to pick up the kits during their free period that afternoon.

……

When the girls went back into the changing room after lessons, Maxine and Janeece arrived, loaded up with big bags.

'Kits' are here!' Maxine called, waving the bags in her hands whilst the others gathered around excitedly. They opened the bags and pulled them out, maroon shorts and gold and marooned stripes shirts, and started to distribute them amongst the team. Weslie took her shirt, which bore the number 17 and went to change into it beside Danielle and Aleesha.

' 'Ere ya'r, 'ere ya'r!' Maxine called once all the girls were changed, picking up a blue carrier bag 'for after' she said, holding the bag out for the girls to see, she had 4 bottles of cider inside.

'Oh quick! Koreshi's coming' Janeece called from by the door, where she had been keeping watch.

'So, studs down the back of the legs is a good one' Maxine said quickly, pretending she had been giving the girls instructions when Miss Koreshi walked in 'and threaten to kick their heads in after, they'll sh-'

'And what?' Koreshi asked 'have Waterloo Road called a bunch of cheats? Look, there's no shame in getting beat as long as you've tried, just enjoy yourselves' Janeece came back with a snappy retort, but was interrupted when Mr Clarkson came in.

'Eyy, impressive. But remember got to do more than just look like a team, stay in formation yes?' he said.

'We've seen the opposition, they're fit and hungry, but we stuck to our game plan, man mark and fight for every loose ball, play firm but fair' Miss Koreshi instructed them.

'Come on!' Mr Clarkson called 'Let's go Waterloo Road!' the girls cheered and marched out, ready for the challenge.

Outside the Forrest Mouth girls where ready and waiting. Most of the girls were large in size and they made a menacing looking team, but the Waterloo Road girls were determined and when the whistle blew for the start of the match, they went into it with everything they had.

Weslie played out wide on the left side wing, keeping their striker from coming down that wing and into the box, they scrapped and fought for the ball, pushed the opposition hard, but it wasn't good enough and within twenty minutes they had conceded two goals.

It was coming towards half time when Weslie noticed Janeece and Maxine acting oddly. A large group of people came matching past the pinch when Maxine was booked for a dirty tackle and she noticed one of them pointing at her angrily.

Back in the changing room at half time, it became even more apparent something was wrong, when both girls changed back into their uniforms and ran out of the changing rooms before Mr Clarkson came in for their team talk.

'Okay, I won't say it was a fantastic performance' Mr Clarkson sighed when he came in.

'But the commitment was there' Miss Koreshi said, at his side. Mr Clarkson looked around and noticed the abandoned kits of Janeece and Maxine in the floor 'where the hell are Janeece and Maxine?' he asked.

No one said anything. He sighed angrily and stormed out, with Koreshi hot on his heels.

'What are we going to do without them?' Danielle asked, annoyed.

'No idea' Weslie said, leaning against the wall casually 'but we can't play with nine men, and we've only got one sub'

……

The whole team had smirks in their faces when they ran back out for the second half, Miss Koreshi amongst them, in a kit. They knew it was a risk, but the thought of forfeiting the match was worse than the thought of them getting caught.

They fought hard through the second half, Miss Koreshi playing opposite Weslie down the right wing and crossing the ball into box for Chlo, which she easily chipped into the goal. A few moments later Chlo was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty which she easily buried in the back of the net.

After the match and some short celebrations, they endured a roasting from the head about the kits. Apparently Janeece and Maxine had faked a raffle to raise money for kits and several angry locals had come to the school demanding their raffle. So the football team had very almost been disbanded, but Weslie was still in good spirits as she walked home with Paul and Bolton.

'Well at least we didn't lose, even if we were almost disbanded' Weslie said, scratching dry mud off her face as she walked between the boys.

'You still didn't win though' Bolton reminded her with a smirk.

'Oh, thanks Bolton' she said, sarcastically over enthusiastic 'I hadn't noticed' He laughed aloud.

'Shame you didn't score though' Paul said 'but you were still great!' he added after she gave him a glare.

'I'm a defensive midfielder Langley, not attacking' she said with a wink. He shrugged his shoulders with a smile.

'Are you aloud to keep the kits?' Bolton asked.

She shrugged 'No idea, Mason was furious though' She looked at her friends for a moment, then the three of them burst into laughter.

'No way man, that was a genius plan!' Bolton exclaimed.

'Definitely' Weslie agreed 'it worked after all'

'And the kits look great' Paul said sarcastically, looking at her mud covered legs and left side where she had gone in for a sliding tackle.

'Shut up Paul' she laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm going to try and get another chapter out today, I'm sure I can manage it, enjoy __ thanks for your reviews._

In light of what had happened with the money for the kits and the uproar it had caused amongst the people who had bought tickets for the main raffle, the football team were eventually disbanded and Janeece and Maxine spent two weeks in after school detentions. The kits were dry cleaned and sent back and the other donations were given back. Weslie's father was surprised to be given his money back, but was disappointed that it had been for nothing.

Though she had enjoyed being on the team, and spending time with all the girls, just having fun, Weslie wasn't too upset when the team had been disbanded. She hadn't really been too fussed about joining in the first place and had only done it to prove she could, and though she did miss spending time with all the other girls, she didn't miss it that much.

But as usual at Waterloo Road there was always something happening and something to talk about, so she didn't find she had too much time on her hands.

……

When Weslie walked out of her Art lesson one Thursday morning, there was an usual atmosphere in the corridors. There was an excited chatter about the place, students were huddled in groups together, discussing something eagerly; something was going on.

'What's going on?' she asked, turning around to look at the boys behind her, both of whom looked just as confused as she was.

Bolton shook his head 'No idea, maybe Masons sacked Budgen or something?' he suggested hopefully, his friends laughed.

'I don't think we'd ever get that lucky mate' Paul said regretfully.

'I don't know' Weslie chipped in as they walked down the stairs together 'I quite like having the miserable old get around. We'd be a lot less entertained if he weren't here'

Bolton snorted 'Speak for yourself man'

She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted as Janeece and Maxine came walking towards them with that look on their faces that everyone in the entire school knew to mean they had something to gossip about.

'You won't believe it!' Maxine said with a smirk on her face as they came to a halt in front of them 'Chlo's cheated on Donte!'

All three jaws dropped 'No way!' Weslie exclaimed, she certainly hadn't seen _that _one coming 'with who?'

'Brett Aspinall' Janeece said, looking less than impressed and slightly less excited than Maxine.

Weslie gasped and Bolton asked 'Isn't he seeing Mika though?' it was common knowledge Brett was dating Chlo's older sister Mika.

'Exactly' Janeece said, arms folded firmly across her chest 'make it worse dun't it? Her sister's boyfriend an all' she looked disgusted by the whole thing.

'How do you know?' Weslie asked, to which Janeece replied 'heard Chlo and Donte arguing about it before' She was surprised, Donte hadn't been seen around the school for days since he and Chlo had fallen out.

'Does Mika know?' Paul asked

'Don't think so, but it won't be long before she finds out, half the school's know something's up with Chlo and Donte, he smashed Lawsons' car up this morning' Janeece said.

The boys both laughed, and Weslie gasped 'Holy shit! What did Lawson do?'

'He went mad' Maxine said 'dragged him up to Masons office, not seen him since' she said, shrugging her shoulders as she and Janeece walked away.

'Wow' Weslie said as they started to walk again 'Poor Mika, that's gonna kill her'

'It's awful that is, to her own sister' Paul said, shaking his head.

'With Brett Aspinall too' Weslie said 'No thank you'

Bolton laughed aloud 'You wouldn't go there with Aspinall Wes?' he asked, nudging her with his elbow.

She gave him a look 'Definitely not, he's so far up his own arse he could tell you how the inside of his ribs look, complete dickhead' Paul laughed loudly.

Bolton smirked and slipped his arm over her shoulder 'You like modest men then? Like yours truly?' he said with a proud smile.

She laughed and picked his arm up by the wrist, moving it from around her and dropping it by his side and said 'not even if your life depended on it Smilie' with a wink 'and you are _definitely _not modest'

Paul started to laugh, earning him a punch on the arm from his taller friend 'Yeah Bolton, your head's almost as big as Aspinall's already, you wanna keep an eye on it' Bolton frowned and followed his laughing friends outside.

……

The subject of Chlo and Brett didn't die down throughout the day, and was still being talked about in hushed tones for the rest of the morning. Weslie was sitting beside Paul at the back of their Geography lesson in their period before lunch, and the two were still talking about it.

'What about you? What would you do if one of your sisters slept with your boyfriend?' he asked, watching her spinning a pen between her fingers.

'I don't know' she said honestly, she was thinking about it, staring straight ahead of her at the information on the board, not really taking it in 'I don't know if I could forgive any of them, but I don't think they'd do that to me' it occurred to her that Mika hadn't though Chlo would ever do something like that to her either, and yet here they were.

'What about the boyfriend, if you've got one?' he asked.

She looked at him and smiled 'I don't have one, but cheating would definitely mean the end if I did have one' she said. Paul smiled at her 'Oh' she added, raising her hand and brushing something out of his hair 'you've got fluff in your hair' Paul blushed slightly and grinned, avoiding her gaze. He reached up and took hold of her hand was she as lowering it, his fingers and palm covering the back of her hand, he smiled at her for a second, then let go. She watched his face for a moment, almost studying him, then turned away. Her cheeks were tinted a pale rose as she smiled to herself.

'What about you?' she asked after a moment, breaking the odd silence between them 'Could you forgive a cheat?'

He looked up at her again, thankful she had ended the silence and shook his head 'I don't think so, I can't stand cheats, it's stupid' She smiled, pleasantly surprised, he didn't seem all that much the typical teen male she had perhaps thought he was.

......

They met up with Bolton for lunch after their Geography lesson and sat together at the back of the canteen, enjoying the Sheppard's Pie Candeece, who also happened to be Bolton's mother, had cooked. Lunchtime went by incident free for the most part, until they were making their way to their next lesson.

Down the other end of the corridor and through the doors, they could hear noise and see a large crowd of people gathered round something 'what's going on?' Paul asked as they sped up to find out what was happening.

Bolton pushed the door open and they joined the crowd, who were circled around an open space, and in the middle were Chlo and Mika Granger, fighting.

'No way man!' Bolton exclaimed, excited 'girl fight!' Paul laughed and they watched eagerly. A second later Tom Clarkson came flying down the stairs, followed by Janeece, he grabbed Mika and pulled her away from her sister.

'Hey! Pack it in, both of you!' he cried as she dragged Mika backwards.

'She slept with Brett!' she screamed angrily.

'I guess she knows then' Weslie said, growing bored with the whole thing whilst the two girls and Mr Clarkson argued in the middle of the circle, Mika calling out that she hadn't been around for Chlo to tell her because she had been with Brett and he had been dumping her.

'I never, want to see you again!' Mika said viciously to her sister after picking her things up 'so don't ever come home, ever' she turned and walked away. Chlo looked around for a moment, then ran away up the stairs.

'Come on' Weslie said, tugging on Paul's arm 'Let's get out of here' she felt sick, this was a family problem and they had no right to interfere. The look on the faces of both the girls had been awful and she prayed that she would never look at her sisters that way.


	8. Chapter 8

_I had some good ideas today for some future chapters, I'm rather excited, there's nothing better than going out and doing something to inspire you. You would've got this hours ago, but I've been busy, and I did manage to write this in about an hour, which I'm impressed with, not sure how I feel about this chapter though, but enjoy. _

No one at Waterloo Road could have predicted what would come from the argument between the Granger sisters. So it came as a terrible shock when the pupils were informed by their form tutors that Chlo had gone missing after that argument.

The school was tense with one of their pupils missing, and they were all asked to mention it to friends and family outside of the school, to keep their eyes wide open for Chlo. Weslie had given flyers to both her parents to distribute at work, and to the twins to give out at their school, she had even emailed a copy of it to Thomas, who was at university in Leeds. But after two weeks, she still hadn't come home and the school was starting to fear the worst.

'Do you think she'll come home?' Weslie asked as they walked in past the huge banner hung over the front doors. A writer for the local newspaper and a photographer were there, helping the school launch a campaign to find Chlo, and had organised a balloon release. Each balloon had a picture of Chlo on it along with a number to call with any information.

'I dunno' Paul said, watching the writer talking to Maxine and Janeece, who had both been working tirelessly to find Chlo and raise awareness of her disappearance 'Mika made it pretty clear she didn't want her around'

'Yeah but she's still her sister, no one should come between them' Weslie said, frowning at him, of course no one should ever come between family.

'Maybe she should've thought of that before she slept with her sisters' boyfriend' he shrugged. Though she disagreed partially with what he was saying, his accent still made her smile.

'I'm pretty sure she didn't do it to intentionally hurt her sister Paul, people make mistakes' she argued.

'She still did it though, and she knew he was Mika's boyfriend' he said 'you even said yourself, you wouldn't forgive a cheater' he added, giving her shoulder a light squeeze, she smiled at him and patted his hand.

'True, I wouldn't forgive a cheater, but at the end of the day, they are still sisters, they shouldn't let a boy come between them' she said with a nod of her head once she was done 'though Mika probably does feel like her sister has betrayed her just as much as Brett has' she sighed deeply and ran a hand through her long hair which she had pulled forward over her shoulder and was falling a little past her elbow 'I'm glad it's not me in all this mess' she said sadly.

Paul gave her shoulder another squeeze 'Good job you've not got a boyfriend for anyone to steal then' he said, making her laugh.

……

Paul and Bolton were sitting at the back of the library on their morning break, play fighting and riffling through a magazine Bolton had brought in with him, which Weslie had no desire at all to even look at. She was trying to finish her English essay, but was finding it difficult to concentrate with the giggling boys with her.

'Fancy shutting up?' she snapped for the fifth time after Bolton attempted to shove Paul off his chair and onto the floor.

'Sorry Weasel' Paul said, sliding back into his seat after stepping out of the reach of Bolton's arms 'forget about the essay and come and chill with us instead' he said, beckoning her over and patting the empty seat beside him.

'I can't' she grumbled, turning back to her work 'I need to get this finished for this afternoon'

He shrugged his shoulders 'Your loss'

She sighed and started to scribble away on the paper again as the door opened and Miss Mason walked in, followed by Mr Lawson, the deputy head. She smirked to herself as out of the corner of her she saw the boys rush to stuff the magazine back into Bolton's bag.

'Ahh, Bolton, Paul, I've been looking for you two' Mason said, standing in front of them. Weslie stopped writing and turned around in her seat, she didn't think they'd done anything bad enough to prompt a visit from the head recently.

'Ere y'ar miss' Bolton said in his thick Rochdale accent, hastily zipping his bag shut 'we aint done nothing'

Mason smile and laughed 'No, you're not in trouble, don't worry' Weslie frowned as she and Paul exchanged confused looks. She took a seat opposite them.

'I wanted to talk to the two of you about your lessons' she paused for a moment, considering her words, not wanting to offend either boy 'we've noticed you don't perform as well as er, others may do in regular classes' the boys both looked confused, Weslie shrugged her shoulders when Paul shot her a questioning gaze 'that's not to say you're stupid or anything, far from it, but not all students benefit from a purely academic education' she explained 'so we've decided to put you into what we've called the Lessons for Life group, along with some other students from your year group, so we can focus your education on strengthening your weaker subjects and giving you skills you can go on to use to find you work, how does that sound?' she finished with a smile.

'Sounds alright, I guess' Paul said, after a long pause.

'You'll still be as much a part of this school as you always were' Lawson chipped in 'we're just going for a more focused approach to your learning'

'Fine by me' Bolton shrugged; he never had been fussed over education.

'What about me?' Weslie asked. They both turned to look at her, confused.

'What do you mean? You don't need the Lessons for Life' Miss Mason said in a short of half laugh.

'But they're my friends, we're always together, I'll be alone in my lessons' she argued.

Miss Mason smiled and stood up to leave 'Oh I'm sure you'll be fine' she turned back to the boys 'Well, I'll have your new timetables sorted by morning' she said with a smile.

'I don't know Rachel' Mr Lawson said, still watching Weslie, she and the boys both turned and looked at him 'I think Weslie could benefit from it too'

Mason frowned, confused 'what do you mean?'

He took her by the arm and took her aside for a moment, the two of them engaging in conversation in very hushed tones, preventing the three teens from listening in. They listened anyway and caught the odd word about 'do well with the support' and 'behaviour needs' and 'can manage the work'

After a moment, they turned back to the students and Rachel smiled at Weslie 'Actually Weslie, we'd like you to join some of the Lessons for Life too, but continue with some of your academic subjects too, is that alright?'

Weslie smiled, triumphant 'that's great, thanks miss' Mason smiled, nodded and she and Lawson left.


	9. Chapter 9

_I was pretty close to deleting chapter 8 earlier today and rewriting it, but I said down and laid down a general outline for my next few chapters and now I feel a lot better about this story, so I decided not to delete it. I'm aiming for this to be the longest story I've written, my record is 25 chapters and I wanna completely smash that and go quite a bit further, so I hope you're ready for a long one. _

_Some of you seem fond of the idea of Weslie and Paul getting together, someone write me a one-shot on the two of them and I'll tell you a secret and write you in as a recurring character, let me know if you're up for that challenge. _

'..can identify the main themes of the poem as isolation, desperation and despair' Mr Budgen was droning on in his usual bored voice. It was late on Wednesday afternoon and they were in their first lesson after lunch. Weslie had managed to finish her essay during their lunch hour, despite the interruption from Mason and Lawson, and had just handed it in to Grantly.

She was sat at the back of his classroom with a desk to herself. She had her arms folded over the open poetry book in front of her and her head rested on her arms. Her eye lids felt heavy and the sound of the rain hammering against the window behind her was sending her to sleep.

On the table beside her own, Paul and Bolton were paying just as little attention as she was. Paul was playing a game on his phone under the desk and Bolton was flicking rolled up pieces of paper at the back of Michaela White's head.

Grantly was talking in a low grumble, not caring if anyone was really paying him any attention and ignoring Danielle and Aleesha, who were gossiping over a celebrity magazine. He was still talking when there was a knock on the door and a year 12 girl popped her head around the door.

'Yes?' Mr Budgen snapped impatiently.

'Umm, Miss Mason would like to see Weslie Connor in her office please' she said. Weslie lifted her head up, confused and looked at the girl. A low chorus of 'ooohh' rumbled around the classroom in the typical someone's-in-trouble way.

'Yes, fine' Mr Budgen said, waving the girl away 'off you go Connor' he grumbled. She stood up and stuffed her things into her bag. Bolton and Paul were both looking at her questioningly, she shrugged her shoulders. She picked her bag and coat up and handed them to Paul 'can you take these for me?' she asked him quietly.

He nodded 'yeah course. Are you in trouble Wes?' he asked, concerned.

She shrugged again 'I don't know, I'll see you later' she mumbled as she walked away, Bolton whispered 'you'll be alright man' as she passed him. She smiled and nodded before leaving Grantly's room.

A moment later, she was being let into Mason's office by Bridget. She found Miss Mason sat behind her desk, smiling at her. Weslie stood in the doorway, still utterly confused.

'Take a seat Weslie' she said with a smile, gesturing to the empty chair in front of her. She hesitated a moment before sitting down.

'I just wanted another chat with you about the Lessons for Life, away from the boys' she explained. Weslie said nothing but sat and studied Miss Masons face, trying to read her expression. Behind her the rain was lashing against the window. It was dark in her office, due to the huge rain cloud dominating the sky outside, making it appear to be a lot later than it actually was and Rachel had the lamp on her desk switched on.

'Weslie, to put it bluntly, you're too smart for Lessons for Life' she said. Weslie frowned, more confused than she had been five minutes ago.

'Then why have you put me on them then?' she asked.

'Because of Paul' Rachel explained.

'What does any of this have to do with him?' she asked, bewildered.

'Well, everything I guess' she said, getting up and pacing for a moment 'I notice that you and Paul have become particularly close since you started here, is there something going on there?' she asked.

Weslie's eyes widened and she blushed violent red 'N-no! nothing, definitely nothing, nothing at all' she stammered, nervously pulling her hair forwards over her shoulders and avoiding her gaze.

Miss Mason laughed and shook her head 'I'm sorry, I'm not accusing you of anything, I was just wondering what kind of relationship you two had' she explained.

Weslie smiled 'we're just friends Miss Mason'

'Well, as I was saying' she continued 'the two of you seem to be close, perhaps closer than he and Bolton are, which is why I have put you on the Lessons for Life'

Weslie frowned again 'I still don't understand Miss'

Miss Mason smiled again 'I need to tell you something Weslie, and I need to you keep this between the two of us until Paul chooses if and when to tell you this himself, okay?'

She nodded 'Yeah, okay'

'I need you on Lessons for Life Weslie because I think you could provide Paul huge amounts of support that we couldn't. Paul has had some trouble at home over the last year' she explained, taking her seat again.

'Until recently Paul lived with his Uncle Dermot, who was violent towards him' Weslie's stomach turned and she didn't want to hear anymore, not only was this horrific, but it was definitely not something she should be hearing from anyone but Paul himself.

'There was an incident' she said seriously 'last term, Paul stole a knife from the school and took it home with him, he was going to stab his Uncle, to try and stop him being violent towards him. Thankfully, Mr Lawson and the previous Head arrived on time to stop anything happening and Pauls Uncle was placed in a mental health facility, Paul has been living with his foster parents ever since'

'The thing is Weslie' she said again, after a moments silence 'Paul seems to be okay, but that's not something we can be sure of, and the Lessons for Life kids will be very open to bullies once the rest of the school finds out that they're getting extra help'

'So you want me to stay with him? In case he doesn't cope with it well?' she asked, finally understanding what it was she meant. Outside, the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson.

'Yes exactly, we just think he'll do better if you're with him. Of course there's always Bolton' she smiled 'but he's more likely to open up to you, less peer pressure'

Weslie smiled and nodded 'No problem, I can do it. What work will I be doing?' she asked.

'You'll be continuing with your regular subjects, you'll just be sitting in with the Lessons for Life, and you'll probably be able to participate in some of the more exciting activities they'll be doing' she said with a smile.

'Thanks miss' Weslie said 'is that all?'

Mason nodded 'yes, that's everything, you can go back to your lesson now' Weslie nodded and stood up 'and thank you Weslie' she added as Weslie opened the door. She smiled and nodded, then left.

……

'What was that all about?' Paul asked when she met up with the boys in the corridor on the way to their last lesson.

'Oh' said she, taking her coat and bag from him 'she wanted to ask how I had settle in and was I happy here and all that bullshit' she said with a casual wave of her hand, as if it were nothing. She didn't at all enjoy lying to them.

'I hope you told her how much fun you're having with us' Bolton said with an arrogant smirk.

She laughed and rolled her eyes 'She told me to stay away from you two before you drag me down' she said with a wink.

When she sat down opposite the boys in their art lesson, she couldn't help but look at Paul a little sadly. She was very fond of him, she'd probably consider him to be her best friend and always felt a rush of affection towards him whenever she saw him, she loved spending time with him. He was a wonderful person, fun, loyal and friendly, and she couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt him. She couldn't comprehend the emotional turmoil he must have endured through out his life, and doubted whether she would be mentally strong enough to cope if it had been her, but there he was, sat smiling, joking with Bolton, happy.


	10. Chapter 10

_Today I wrote what will eventually be the very final few paragraphs of this story, I'm very excited about it. It's rather comforting knowing where things are doing, because now I have a definitive direction I need to take this, and that feels so much better then opening up word everyday and thinking 'fuck, what am I going to write next?!'_

_Anyway, enjoy and keep reviewing, I love them _

'First morning of Lessons for Life eh' Weslie said, walking between the boys and trying her hardest to keep the smirk off her face, with little success. Neither boy looked happy.

'Rather be at home man' Bolton said grumpily. She bit down on her bottom lip, fighting laughter. The boys might care what the other kids said about them, but it didn't bother her all that much. Then again, she wasn't technically on the Lessons for Life scheme. She hadn't told Paul about the conversation she'd had with the head, just like she'd said she wouldn't and as much as she didn't want to, part of her pitied him.

She knew he wouldn't want her to feel sorry for him, but she couldn't help it. The things he had been through were awful and it did surprise her how sound of mind he was after it all, but it wasn't at all surprising hat he had a deep rooted dislike for confrontation, though that didn't stop him from getting into the occasional scuffle.

Looking at his face and his general manner when they were together, it was hard to imagine him as an abused child, she couldn't picture him cowering in fear from some faceless monster, but she was thankful for that, she cared deeply for Paul and didn't ever want to see him in a position like that.

'Oh come on' she argued, giving him a nudge with her elbow 'you never know, you might like it, it might be fun' she said with a smile, trying to be positive.

The boys have her identical disbelieving looks 'you don't know until you try at least' she said.

Paul rolled his eyes 'not that we've got a choice either' he groaned.

'You two are ridiculously hard to please, you know that right?' she said, beginning to lose patience with the boys. Neither of them answered.

She found it stupid they should both be so against the idea, when it was obvious Mason thought they could gain a lot from the scheme, or she simply wouldn't have put them on it in the first place, she wasn't the type to force a student to do something that they wouldn't benefit from. She wouldn't insult a persons intelligence by doing that, and she wouldn't waste time they way either.

She thought they should at least be appreciative of it. After all, Mason had done a lot for both boys, especially Bolton. Any other head would have thrown him out a long, long time ago for his behaviour and the number of fights he had been in, but not her, because she believed in him and knew there was potential in him. So surely he at least would trust her judgement, but then again, they were teen boys, she and knew better than to expect too much from them.

As well as the introduction of the Lessons for Life scheme, Waterloo Road was also celebrating the safe return of Chlo Granger, who had been found a few days previously when she'd been arrested. She had been let go, but had phoned Tom Clarkson to come get her just a few hours later, and was now home, safe and sound.

……

The Lessons for Life weren't as fun as Weslie would've hoped. She was one of very few girls in the group and spent the entire morning wishing the boys would cheer up and start to enjoy themselves. But that was hard when their first lesson just turned out to be maths with Lawson who tried to teach them basic maths in a simplistic way that was almost insulting.

'This is ridiculous' Paul snapped, slamming his pen down when Lawson had nipped out of the room for a moment to speak with one of the drama teachers 'he talks to us like we're babies' he complained.

'It's not really what I expected' Weslie admitted, looking up from her complicated maths equation.

'I thought we'd be doing real stuff' Bolton said, leaning back in his chair with a very less than impressed expression on his bored face 'like fixing car or somethin' '

Paul laughed bitterly 'as if they'd trust us near a car'

'Well if you'd behave a little more often ..' Weslie mumbled, going back to her own work. Her pen had barely touched the paper when it was snatched from her hand, leaving a lovely line right through her work as it did. She looked up and found Paul holding it; she glared at him and leapt to her feet, diving for the pen, which he moved out of her reach.

'Who was it that hid Haydock's bag last week?' he asked, grabbing her wrist with the hand that wasn't hold her pen and holding her at bay as she made another grab at her pen 'and who stole all the locker keys from the boys changing rooms on Monday?' he got to his feet as she made to dive across him, still trying to wrestle the pen from his grasp, her fingers scrambled at his wrist, but she couldn't quite reach, he laughed and stepped backwards 'I'm sure it was the same person who switched all the CDs in Wildings music collection' He took her right arm by the elbow and spun her around so she was facing away from him and pined her against his chest, using her arm, which was now held across her own chest, to keep her there, she struggled against him, but wasn't strong enough to break free 'and remind me who unplugged Budgen's keyboard when he was on the computer the other week?'

She stopped fighting him 'fine, it was me' she said resentfully. Paul let her go but still held her pen away from her 'but all I do is cause a little chaos, you two are always in more trouble than me, and you've had a fair few fights' she reminded him.

Bolton laughed from the seat besides Paul's empty one, where he had been sitting whilst watching them wrestle 'You're just as bad as us man, just no one thinks you'd do any of the shit you do'

She smiled mischievously and sat back down after taking her pen from Paul, who had held it out of her, only to pull it away when she had gone to take it, but had given it to her the second time he held it out 'with this face?' she said, smiling innocently 'who'd ever suspect me'

Paul scoffed 'exactly, which is why you're so dangerous' he said, taking his seat again. She frowned; she wouldn't go as far as to say she was dangerous.

……

Weslie was stood outside of the canteen fishing around in her bag for her phone when Matt Wilding came jogging down the corridor to her. She smiled triumphantly when she found her phone, then dropped it back in her bag abruptly when she saw him approaching and put an innocent smile.

'Ahh Weslie' he said, stopping in front of her 'just the girl I've been looking for'

She frowned, confused 'Oh?'

He gave her a pleading smile 'I've been reading your file from your old school' he said.

She understood 'Oh' she repeated, in a completely different tone 'You want me to be in your musical don't you?' she asked.

He smiled and nodded 'It said in there that you always represented your school in any singing competition, sang with the choir and even played Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar'

She rolled her eyes and took a step back 'Yes, I know' she said dryly 'A female Judas, ground breaking' she said sarcastically 'It doesn't mean anything'

He shook his head, his expression becoming almost desperate 'No, it does, it means you have an incredible voice if you were picked to play Judas over all those males' he explained.

'No' she insisted 'it means the males weren't good enough'

'Alright, forget that' he said, waving it away with his hand, sensing he was losing the battle on that one 'It also said in there you were offered a recording contract when you were fourteen' he said, sounding utterly impressed 'they wouldn't offer you that if you were just an average vocalist' he said. Not true, she thought, all sorts of people are offered contracts and take them, the majority don't make big though 'Please Weslie, I need you' he pleaded.

'I'm sorry Mr Wilding' she said, walking away backwards 'I don't sing anymore'


	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I did plan on it, but it was my best friends boyfriends 21__st__ yesterday, as you can imagine, it was pretty messy. Enjoy _

As far as Weslie could tell, or was concerned, the Lessons for Life scheme was not having the desired effect the senior management had hoped for. In fact, she'd go as far to say it had been a complete disaster so far. The scheme had only been running for three weeks, and so far all of its pupils hated it. It wasn't as hands on as they had first believed it to be, and the majority of their lessons were pretty much the same as their previous lessons, just watered down.

It had also had a negative effect on the reputation and popularity of the Lessons for Life pupils, who as predicted by Miss Mason, had become a prime target for the school bullies, and were even being targeted by other students just looking to divert the attention of bullies from themselves.

Weslie waited outside the gates one Tuesday morning for almost twenty minutes, wondering where Paul and Bolton where, and why they would possibly both leave her waiting, before she heard her phone ring inside her blazer. It was a text from Paul, telling her to come and meet them inside, outside Miss Campbell's art room.

She stuffed her phone into her bag and walked in alone, her arms crossed angrily over her chest, it was the first time she'd walked in alone since her second day at the school.

She found them in the corridor outside Campbell's room, just as Paul said they'd be there 'where the hell where you?' she snapped 'I looked like a tit out there al-' Paul cut her off by grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her around. She saw why they had left her out there. Someone had put up posters all along the wall, reading; 'caution, slow children'

'Look at the state of this man!' Bolton raged, pacing, his temper boiling, he didn't take kindly to people who insulted him.

'Who put these up?' she asked, staring at them,

'No idea' Paul said from behind her 'but we're gonna find out' he assured her.

She turned around to look at him sternly 'Oh, and do what?' she asked, the two of them got in enough trouble already; they didn't need to get in anymore over something as pathetic as a few hand made posters. But she knew full well either would just let this one go, they were both too stubborn and too proud to do so.

'Sort it out' he said, as though it were obvious. She opened her mouth and was about to tell them to leave it or at least tell Mr Lawson, when the doors at the other end of the corridor opened and a group of boys hung round the door way, shouting insults at Paul and Bolton, who both turned and bolted after them.

She sighed and shook her head, leaving.

……

When she saw them again, it was half way through their first period and they came in late, having been caught almost fighting with a different group of boys.

'What did he say?' She whispered to Bolton, who was sitting beside her.

'Nuthin' much' he said, shrugging 'we showed him the posters though' he said.

'He made us prefects!' Paul said proudly, puffing his chest out. She laughed and gave his shoulder a playful shove.

'Prefects eh' she said, smirking 'I guess my days as a rule breaker are over then' she said in a mock defeated voice. The boys laughed.

'Nahh man' Bolton said smiling 'we'll turn a blind eye for you innit' he said with a wink.

She smiled 'So what does this prefect lark entail?' she asked, abandoning her work and resting her chin on her elbow.

'We're enforcing the rules' Paul stated in a very matter-of-fact way. She wouldn't admit it to the boys, but the thought of them both in a position of authority both terrified and amused her, she fought to suppress a smirk, which failed as usual, she'd never had a poker face.

'The enforcers!' Bolton said in a mock American voice, holding his arm out straight with his fist balled, like superman. Weslie laughed and rolled her eyes.

'Oh dear, we're all for the chop if you two are in charge' she said seriously.

Paul snorted and shoved her shoulder 'Shut it Connor, or I'll send you to the cooler' he threatened.

She laughed loudly, almost attracting the attention of the teacher 'Ooohh making threats now!' she said, still smirking.

……

Weslie was surprised at how serious the boys took their roles and prefects, and because of that, she saw very little of them for most of the day. She spent the morning with Danielle and Aleesha whenever they weren't in lessons, and she went looking for them after lunch.

She found them by the side entrance, stopping pupils from coming in unless their uniforms were correct and making sure no one had anything in their pockets they weren't supposed to.

Paul smiled when he looked up and saw her approaching. He was holding a large clear plastic bag which was half full of packets of sweets, crisps, chocolate bars, cans of pop, cartons of juice and packets of cigarettes, all of which they had confiscated from students on their way in.

'Your favourite' he said with a smile as she came to stop in front of him, handing her a chocolate bar from inside the bag.

She smiled widely and dropped it into her back 'Thanks Paul' she said, smiling.

'Having fun?' she asked, watching a few of the other Lessons for Life boys searching a year eight girls bag.

He snorted 'Hard work isn't always fun Weasel' he said seriously. She smiled and laughed, then noticed Matt Wilding over Pauls shoulder, trying to catch her eye 'Oh shit' she mumbled, then turned and hurried away, without even a goodbye to Paul, who handed his bag to one of the other boys, and followed her.

'Wes?' he called, rushing after her, she was moving fast 'Weslie?! What's wrong?' he asked, trying to keep up with her as she jogged down the corridor, throwing the doors open.

He caught up with her near the front entrance and grabbed her elbow, pulling her backwards roughly 'what's going on?' he asked, grabbing her other arm to steady her as she stumbled from the force of being pulled backwards by him. She looked up at him, wearing an expression he'd never seen before. Her eyes scanned the immediate area for Wilding.

She took him by the wrist and dragged him outside, finding a quiet corner by the canteen, where she finally let go him.

'Alright' he said, completely confused 'what the hell was that all about?' he asked.

'I don't wanna sing in his musical' she said, pacing and fidgeting, running her hand through her hair every few seconds. Paul frowned, surely something as trivial as a musical wasn't worth panicking this much over.

'Don't do it then' he said.

She laughed sarcastically 'it's not that simple, he must have heard my demo' she said, hiding her face in her hands.

'Is that so bad?' he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She sighed deeply and looked up at him 'I don't wanna sing anymore, I can't' she explained to him in an almost pleading voice.

'I don't understand' he said.

She sighed again 'I sang at my old school, I sang all the time for them. I was the lead in the choir, the lead in almost every play. They entered me in every singing competition they could find. And I won them all' she explained.

Paul frowned 'I still don't get why that's bad'

'It was all the time Paul, just none stop. I wasn't even a pupil, I was just a tool they used whenever they were hosting an event, I sang at every presentation, in every play, every time they needed to impress someone, they just wanted to show off their star performer. When I was singing in the choir, a representative from a record label had come from London, just to hear me sing, they offered me a contract and my parents pushed me into taking it' she started to pace, wringing her hands.

'We went to London, recorded a demo, and I cracked. The pressure was too much already, from my parents, the label, and my teachers. It was from every one, all they wanted me to do was sing, but none of them cared that it wasn't making me happy any more' tears rolled down her cheeks and Paul took a step forward, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug as she started to cry 'I knew it'd only get worse if I signed that contract, I couldn't handle it' she sobbed 'it was just too much, it was like everyone wanted a piece of me, and I was being pulled at in every direction constantly, someone always wanted me, needed me to sig for them, it never ever stopped' she broke down.

'Shhh, it's okay' he assured her, stroking her long hair 'No one's going to make you sing here'


	12. Chapter 12

_Two things. One, I know perfectly well there's no hyphen in giraffe, but watch the episode and you'll see why I put one in. _

_Two, I borrowed some dialogue from the show here, I hate doing it, but I really wanted to include the Grantly/Steph dancing scene, so I'm sure you can forgive me for that right?_

_You would've had this last night, but the document upload didn't want o work for me, sorry._

Weslie was dropped off by her father one Friday and found it was just Paul who was waiting for her. Most days it was both boys who waited for, but it wasn't uncommon for Bolton to be off doing something else, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that he wasn't there.

'What scam is he running today then?' she asked as she met Paul and they both started to walk in through the gates together.

'He's round the back' he said. As usual, his Leeds accent made her smile; she couldn't get enough of it. It was a bright March morning and the weather had started to improve, if only slightly, and the students were looking forwards to the spring, looming just out of reach.

Weslie was celebrating that she had now survived five and a half months at Waterloo Road without once complaining to her parents, who were shocked she had lasted this long and were cursing the fact the school had not impacted on her as they had wished it would. It hadn't scared any sense of maturity into her at all. She was still misbehaving, spending way too much of their money, and leaving most of her work until the last minute, though they couldn't complain about her grades, she was a very bright student, but did need to apply herself a little more if she ever wanted to get to university.

Weslie herself was considering a career in English, maybe a writer or even a teacher, but her parents were still hoping she would consider a career singing, even if she had swore never to sing again. But she had to admit, if only to herself that a small part of her did miss it.

'What's he doing round there?' she asked, pulling a face.

Paul pulled a face, a face she knew very well to mean he was fighting laughter 'Dancing' he said.

She stopped dead in her tracks 'Dancing?!' she repeated, baffled. She had definitely not expected that.

Paul stopped walking turned to look at her and nodded once 'dancing' he said again. She jogged up to him as he started to walk again.

'Really?' she questioned, more than a hunt of amusement in her tone 'actual dancing?'

'Dead serious Weasel' he said, draping an arm across her shoulders casually 'he's round the back, break dancing'

She rolled her eyes and laughed 'Oooh!' she said, realisation dawning, but still giving Paul a tiny elbow to the ribs, which he dodged easily, but put his arm round her shoulder again once she had stopped trying to hit him 'that kind of dancing!' she exclaimed 'I seriously thought he was round the back wearing a leotard and dancing to swan lake for a minute there'

Paul laughed loudly and gave her shoulders a squeeze 'Don't be daft, this is Bolton we're talking about, his reputation is way to important for him to let anyone actually _see _him in his leotard' Paul said.

She laughed, then sighed and said 'Shame, you really had my hopes up then Paul'

'Sorry Wes' he said, giving her shoulders another squeeze.

Together they walked round to the back end of the school to find Bolton. Round there, they found a small crowd of students all stood round an open circle of space, inside which was a portable CD player, playing hip hop music loudly, and a year 11 boy, who was dancing to the music. Bolton was stood at the front of the crowd, watching the other dancers and waiting for his turn.

Paul and Weslie joined the crowd and fought they way to the front to watch their friend dance. After a minute or so, Bolton took to the floor to show off his new moves, which involved some intricate footwork and a few big power moves. Weslie watched, impressed as he and some of the other boys danced. She didn't know Waterloo Road had so many talented dancers.

Bolton joined them as the bell rang and the crowd started to move inside.

'You got some serious skill there Smilie' she said with a genuine serious smile 'I didn't know you were so talented, I'm impressed'

Bolton smiled proudly 'Thanks man'

......

Back inside school, the Lessons for Life scheme had actually started to kick in properly and the students were having their first unusual lesson. Grantly and Miss Haydock were showing them some ballroom dancing. The Lessons for Life group had gathered in Mr Wilding's group, who had already been teaching them a little dance, when the door opened and Budgen and Haydock walked in.

'What are they doing here?' Paul asked, outrage.

'Mr Lawson wants a little more ... structure to your dancing' Mr Wilding said, in a voice that didn't sound completely confident.

'Structure?' Michaela echoed 'what are you on about?'

Weslie and Paul exchanged less than impressed glances as Miss Haydock gave Mr Wilding their music, and got into position for the dance, much to the dismay of the class, who all started to laugh at her.

'It's strictly ballroom' Mr Wilding said jokingly, putting the CD in.

'As in the telly?' Bolton asked, a smirk spreading across his face.

'Yep' Wilding said 'Mr Budgen was a champion' the room laughed even louder, a few people even cheered.

'Was' Mr Budgen said firmly.

Paul gave him a look of disbelief 'you're having a gi-raffe sir' he said.

Mr Budgen shot him an icy glare and said 'and I can assure you, if I hadn't been forced into this I wouldn't be here' as he walked forwards and took hold of Miss Haydock, the two of them starting a slow waltz, giving them verbal instructions as they dance, Mr Budgen also mocking Bolton's break dance.

Once they were done, Bolton started. Grantly had insulted his particular type of dance and he wasn't happy, he stared to tell him about the history of break dance, and even the moves, but still Mr Budgen was sceptical, even after being told you could break dance to any music.

'Put it back on Sash' Bolton said, getting to his feet as the girl crossed the room and turned the CD player back on.

'Go on Smilie!' Weslie and the rest of the teens cheered him on. They cheered as he danced to the slow, mellow music; even gaining applause from Miss Haydock, but Grantly still remained unimpressed.

'Okay Mr Budgen!' Bolton called, taking his seat again 'Let see you do some of that'

He gave a small speech about modern music and stated that break dancing 'of sorts' had been around for a lot longer than the Waltz, obviously, he had sensed defeat.

'Track 5 please' he said. A faster, more upbeat song started and after a few seconds, Grantly broke out into a quick kind of jive. The students went wild as he danced around on the balls of his feet, throwing him arms out and even spinning on the spot, cheering and clapping him on, some even filming him, but all where also laughing, even Bolton looked impressed.

Shortly after he had finished, the students packed their things up and filed out of the room. One her way out Mr Wilding stopped her.

He grabbed her arm lightly and held her back, Paul and Bolton both stopped and waited 'Weslie' he said 'I hoped you'd reconsider my request, this musical needs you' he said, pleading again.

She sighed and shook her head, Paul sensed danger and rushed over to her, taking her by the shoulder and leading her out as she said; 'I'm sorry Mr Wilding, I don't want to do it' leaving him looking dejected yet again.


	13. Chapter 13

_Again, you would've had this sooner if the document uploader would work; I'm really getting pissed off with it. _

Weslie sat trying her hardest to concentrate, but was failing miserably. Her eyes were barely in focus and she'd been resting her chin on her hand for so long that she almost could've sworn it had always been like that. She was slumped forwards in her seat, gazing out of the window, watching a crow eating crumbs off the floor of the field, down at the far end, near the gates. In her other hand she had her pen clasped between her fingers, flicking it from side to side quickly. At the table beside her, Bolton was rolling up tiny pieces of paper and flicking them at the back of her head, some of them had stuck in her long tied back hair, which was cascading almost the entire way down her back.

At the front of the room, Tom Clarkson was talking to the class about poetry, but Weslie could almost guarantee none of them had taken in a single word of what he was saying. The weather was still heating up, but the school was still using its heating, so the classrooms had started to become make shift ovens, inside which its students baked and fought to stay awake in the drowsy heat.

'Come on!' Mr Clarkson called, clapping his hands together, making more than half the teenagers in the room jump with fright as he did 'Look lively' he said, staring around the room at them in disbelief 'Now' he said, turning back to the board behind him, on which he had put up an enlarged copy of the poem they were studying, once he had their attention again 'can anyone tell me what the writer is trying to say about the women his poem is about?' he asked, looking around at them again, but seeing only blank faces staring back at him, he sighed and shook his head 'Anyone?'

The room was silent 'She's desperate' Weslie chipped in, even though she knew she shouldn't 'she's angry at him, she feels betrayed and unworthy, like she won't even be good enough for anyone else because he rejected her. But she loved him, it's likely she still does, but she'll never get over it, and will probably always love him' she said.

Tom smiled and nodded 'Very good Weslie, and exactly what the poem is trying to say, even if we had to get the answer from the only one of you not on the Lessons for Life scheme' he said, still frustrated with the others. Weslie nodded once and went back to watching the crow, which was now skipping around the field, looking for more scraps to eat.

When the bell finally rang the class rushed to gather up their things and head for the door, wanting to get out and to the canteen as soon as possible. Weslie packed up her things whilst talking to Paul and Bolton, who were discussing a football match they had watched at the weekend. Weslie was a football fan, but didn't support any of the teams from around Rochdale, or Manchester.

'Come on, hurry up' she droned from by the door, waiting for the boys who were both walking so slowly they were likely to miss lunch if they didn't pick up the pace, she was leaning back against the door frame, swinging her bag from her elbow.

'Oh, sorry Wes' Paul said with a smile, catching up to her, Bolton behind her. She held the door open for them as they walked out into the corridor. The boys continued their conversation as they walked, Paul linking his arm in with Weslie's as usual, he'd become so used to doing it, and did it so often now, that he usually did it automatically. Wes ignored their sports talk and took her phone out to text her sister.

'What do you think Wes? Was he offside or not?' Paul asked, breaking her concentration. She looked up and asked 'huh? What?'

Paul smiled and repeated 'was he offside for that second United's second goal on Saturday?' he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders 'I don't know, I was watching the Everton match' she said with a smile.

Bolton laughed out loud, thinking she was joking, then saw her face and realise she was serious 'for serious man?' he asked.

She nodded, keeping her face straight 'serious, I'm an Evertonian'

Bolton frowned 'why man? They're shit' he argued. She aimed a kick at his leg, which he dodged, slapping her foot away and laughing.

'Shut up Bolton, I'm proud of my team' she said with a smirk.

He shrugged his shoulders 'fair enough, someone's gotta support the loser' he said, with a cheeky grin, dodging out of the way as she swung a punch at him, but was pulled back by Paul.

'Come on you two' Paul said impatiently as they continued to play fight 'I'm 'ungry, I want some grub' he said pulling her closer and holding her against his side so she couldn't fight with Bolton and dragging the two of them towards the canteen.

Once they got there, the boys made sure they got a plate full of chips each and as much stake and kidney pie as they could get without being told off by the kitchen staff. Weslie watched with a slightly disgusted expression as they piled up their plates with greedy looks in their eyes. She picked up a salad and followed them towards a table at the far end of the room, where they slid into seats and started to stuff their faces.

'Attractive … very attractive' she muttered, watching them shovelling chips into their greedy mouths, they were such typical teens right now.

'Thanks Weasie' Paul said with a wink, offering her a chip, which she took and dipped in salad dressing, before eating. She sat in silence whilst they finished their meals, toying with her own and thinking about Mr Wilding and the musical. She felt bad for him, really she did, but it just wasn't her scene anymore.

She used to love singing; she loved it more than anything. Nothing felt better than opening her mouth and just letting it all come bursting out of her, and she knew perfectly well just how much of it came out of her, she knew her voice was big, powerful, incredible. But she didn't always like the attention it brought her, and the constant pressure all around her, everyone wanted a piece of her, wanted to hear that voice, to use that voice, wanted her to sing all he time. Her entire life started to revolve around her voice. If she wasn't singing, she was training, and if she wasn't training, she was exercising her voice. It became the be all and end all of her life, and she came to hate it.

'Oi, are you coming or what?' Pauls thick Leeds accent broke her train of thought and she snapped back to reality to find herself alone at their table and still playing with her barely eaten salad. She grabbed her bag and stood up quickly.

'Sorry, I'm here' she mumbled, still distracted. She stood up and started to follow the boys out. She had barely taken two steps when she slipped on a discarded chocolate wrapper, screaming and falling forwards, throwing her arms out in hopes of catching herself. Paul caught her as she fell, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her up. She let him pull her and found herself face to face with him when she looked up, his hands on her waist, her face a centimetre from his. She looked at him for a moment, noticing how striking blue his eyes were and smiled at him, he kept hold of her waist, examining her face, until she backed away, after only a second.

She smiled, blushing pale pink 'Thanks' she mumbled, playing with her hair. She turned away from him and started to walk out with Bolton.


	14. Chapter 14

_As if the beeb took Waterloo Road off tonight for Holby City, and it's not back now for two weeks, really not impressed. Incidentally, the lovely Tom Milner, who plays our beloved Paul was in that episode of Holby, so I ended up watching it. _

_Anyway, I know I've been slacking a little lately, sorry about that, I had a really good idea for a True Blood one shot that came to me in a dream, so I've been binging on some True Blood DVDs and working on the (incomplete and very long) one shot, which I'm still not even sure I'm going to publish. _

_Right, well, on with the chapter, enjoy and keep reviewing, I do love them =]_

'It's all he's been banging on about for the last week' Paul said, complaining. Weslie smiled, the phone clasped between her cheek and her ear whilst she took butter and apple juice out of the fridge with one hand, and was holding a loaf of bread, still in its wrapper with the other.

'Well' she said, turning around and elbowing the fridge door shut 'he is excited, have you bought him anything yet?' she asked.

'No' he said as Weslie put the bread down and unwrapped it, stuffing two pieces into the toaster and turning the dial down, everyone else in the household had their toast well done, and Weslie had always preferred it only lightly toasted 'have you?' he asked.

She nodded, despite the fact he couldn't see her 'yeah, I got him that shirt he was looking at in Manchester last month, the blue one, remember?' she asked, hoisting herself up on the kitchen counter.

'That was sixty quid Wes!' he exclaimed, he hadn't planned on spending nearly that much on Bolton, and he'd been friends with him a lot longer than she had. He felt guilty, ashamed almost, that he couldn't afford to buy his friend anything expensive like she could. He hated that he didn't have enough money to buy what he liked. He didn't blame her for the way she was, but it always bothered him when she could buy things that they couldn't.

She shrugged her shoulders 'oh, he'll only complain if he doesn't get something flashy' she said, as if it were nothing, which he supposed, to her it was.

'Shit' he said quietly 'I'm buggered, I've no idea what to get him' he grumbled.

'I could pick him something up from you if you like?' she suggested, grabbing her toast as it popped out of the toaster, putting it down. She held the phone between her shoulder and ear again whilst she buttered it 'I'm sure I could find some nice shiny earrings he'd like' she said with a little laugh.

Paul laughed weakly 'Yeah probably' he breathed deeply; he knew she meant well, but he didn't want her to think he was a charity case. The idea of her thinking of him like that terrified him, he didn't want her to ever look at him that way, he wanted her to look at him differently, he wanted her to look at him the same way he looked at her 'No, it's alright' he said solemnly 'I'll find something for him'

She picked up her toast and tucked the carton of apple juice under her arm, walking back upstairs to her room, Stotch getting up from his seat in front of the fireplace and following her 'Alright, I could come shopping with you this weekend if you like?' she suggested 'help you find something'

'Yeah' he said, chirping up a little, he liked the idea of spending Saturday with her 'yeah that'll be great, no one better than a woman for shopping' he said cheekily.

She laughed loudly; kicking her bedroom door open and holding it open for the dog who sauntered in slowly, watching her as he did. She glared at him, he did it to her all the time, she often thought he did things like this on purpose, to take the piss out of her 'Oi Langley!' she exclaimed, sitting down in the huge cushy chair sat in the corner beside her built in wardrobes 'watch your mouth, or I'll slap it' she warned him.

She heard him laugh down the other end of the phone, his laugh was adorable 'Sorry Weasie, you know I don't mean it'

She smiled 'yeah you better not boy' she said, trying to be serious, which was something she wasn't very good at whenever she was around Paul or Bolton 'Well' she said after a moment 'I should go, I have an essay to finish for Budgen and I gotta walk Stotch' she said, throwing a piece of toast for him, which he caught in midair and ate in one bite.

'You can't walk the dog at this time' he argued 'it's almost ten'

She smiled 'Oh don't worry about it' she said, waving his concerns away 'I always walk him at this time, he prefers it' she said.

He sighed 'well alright' he said, though it very much wasn't alright in his eyes 'but be careful okay?' he said.

She laughed 'I'll be careful' she assured him 'promise'

……

When Weslie was dropped off on the morning of Bolton's birthday, she found both boys where waiting for. Bolton had the biggest smirk on his face she had ever seen and she couldn't help but laugh as she stepped out of the car and sawing him standing like he owned the place, wearing a ridiculous plastic crown.

She laughed even louder when she came to a stop in front of him and couldn't talk for a moment, holding onto Pauls shoulder for support as she double up in laughter.

'Oh my god!' she exclaimed a minute later, once she had calmed herself down enough to speak, Paul and sniggering behind his hand. Her sides were hurting from laughing at she had tears in her eyes 'what the fuck is that?' she wheezed, almost breaking down again and turning to hide her face on Pauls shoulder, the two of them giggling uncontrollably.

'It's my crown innit' he said, tilting it a little further to the side, completely unaffected by their laughter 'gotta wear a crown on my birthday' he said, grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her backwards in through the school gates, Paul following, still laughing.

The two of them had managed to calm themselves down by the time they were inside and sat in the canteen, where they often sat before they had to be in their form rooms.

'Right' Bolton said, turning serious 'got anything for me?' he asked. Weslie rolled her eyes, she knew he had been dying to ask for presents since he met up with Paul that morning, and in all honesty she was surprised he had lasted this long before asking.

'Alright, Alright' she said, pulling a neatly wrapped silver package out of her bag. Bolton's eyes lit up and he almost squealed with excitement. She handed him the package and watched him tear it apart in seconds. He picked the shirt up and held it at eye level, examining it 'No way man' he said, a smile spreading across his face 'Cheers Wes' he said sincerely, leaning across the table to give her a hug 'this is ace man'

He wrapped the shirt back up in the paper and tucked it away inside his bag, safe. She smiled; she knew he'd like it.

Paul looked uneasy and he handed Bolton a medium sized package. They both watched as he unwrapped it, inside was a bottle of aftershave. Bolton admired it, looking impressed and clapped his hand with Pauls 'Thanks man' he said, taking the lid off and sniffing it 'nice' he said smiling. Paul smiled, but looked a little unhappy. Weslie wanted to ask him what was wrong, but the bell rang and both boys got up to leave. Bolton bounded off ahead of them, looking for other friends to give him attention on his birthday.

'Paul?' she asked, following him. He ignored her and kept walking. She grabbed his hand pulled him back before he escaped her out into the packed corridor 'what's wrong?' she asked, looking at his dejected face.

'My present was rubbish' he said, looking down at their hands.

She shook her head and moved her hand up to squeeze his elbow 'no it wasn't' she said 'he loved it' she assured him.

He shook his head 'No, it was shit, cheap and he hated it' he sighed, hiding his eyes behind his hand, rubbing his temples. She sighed too and stepped forward, hugging him. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, smelling coconut in her long hair, which was down today.

'You're his best friend Paul' she whispered to him 'it doesn't matter how much money you spent on him'

He squeezed her tightly, loving how she felt in his arms and said 'thanks Weslie, I'd be buggered without you' she pulled out of the hug and smiled at him.

'Yes, I know' she said smugly, linking her arm in this his 'come on, we've got lessons' she said, with fake enthusiasm, dragging him with her.


	15. Chapter 15

'Where are you actually going?' Weslie asked, her arms crossed moodily over her chest and a scowl on her face that didn't do her features justice.

'I don't know' Paul said, wishing she'd cheer up. They were stood outside the school in the playground in front of the schools mini bus, which was to be taking her best friends away from her for the next three days, which she was very far from happy about 'out in the wilderness somewhere' he said, waving his arms in a very vague sort of way.

'And why can't I come?' she asked grumpily.

'Because this is the 'bad boys' trip' Mr Clarkson said, coming up behind her and clapping her on the shoulder, she scowled at him 'and you're not a boy' he said.

'I misbehave all the time though!' she exclaimed, turning round to face him and holding her arms out, outraged she had to stay behind 'watch' she said, looking around for something bad to do, finding nothing else, she gave the mini bus a quick kick, which hurt her foot.

'Oi, pack that in' Clarkson said as she lifted her foot up to rub it. Paul laughed at her stood on one foot and rubbing the other. She looked up and shot him an icy glare. He faked a pain in his chest, as if she had shot him.

'See sir' she standing up and looking at him, but throwing a sly punch at Paul, who had been trying to nudge the back of her knee with his foot to make her fall over, he caught her arm and held into it 'I need rehabilitation too' she argued, trying to pull her arm out of his grip.

'Yeah, you probably do' he said, turning around and watching her and Paul almost wrestling against the side of the mini bus 'but like I said, you're not a boy, so you can't come on'

She kicked Pauls foot from under him and squirmed away, following Mr Clarkson who was packing things into the back of the bus 'But Miss Shackleton's going' she argued 'and she's not a boy either' she have the blond woman a glance and a cheeky grin and added 'as far as I can tell'

'Watch your mouth Connor, or you'll be in the cooler for a week' he warned her. She smiled at him innocently 'And Miss Shackleton is staff, she's coming to help us cope with that lot' he added, nodding to the group of boys, which Paul had now joined.

'Well that's just more reason as to why I can come, I could share a tent with Miss Shackleton' she suggested 'stay away from all the dirty boys' she said, eyeing the boys suspiciously. Bolton gave her an overly friendly wave she didn't trust.

'Sorry Weslie' he said, snapping the back doors of the 'It's just the boys on this one' he said finally, before walking away.

Weslie frowned and admitted defeat. She turned and started to walk back into the school as the boys all moved to gather around the mini bus and wait to leave. As she was passing, Paul and Bolton stopped.

'Sorry man' Bolton said, rubbing her arm.

She smiled and waved his concerns away 'Don't worry about it, I'll live' she said, crossing her arms across her chest again. Bolton smiled and gave her a quick hug, then ran off to join the others, as his mother came around the corner to talk to him.

'Sorry Wes' Paul said, she couldn't fool him, he knew she was disappointed.

She smiled again 'it doesn't matter, I'll see you again in a few days' she said, stepping into his arms as he opened them to offer her a hug 'text me if you can get any signal yeah?' she said, stepped back once he let her go.

'Promise' he said with a smile 'see you in a few days I guess'

She nodded 'yeah, see you soon' and turned to head back inside, already late for her first lesson.

……

As far as Weslie could tell, the whole day dragged it. It was strange being without the boys, she had spent every single day of her life at Waterloo Road with either both or one of the boys, and now neither where there, she felt slightly lost.

She spent most of the morning with Danielle and Aleesha, and although she was fond of both girls, they weren't really her kind of people. She couldn't possibly care less about celebrity gossip even if she tried, and the two girls spent most of the morning talking about year 11 boys Weslie didn't know, nor had any interest in.

She decided to spend her lunch hour alone, and after eating quickly in the canteen she went for a walk around the school and found herself in Matt Wildings room. It was completely empty as she opened the door and walked in slowly. She looked around the room, at the musical posters pasted all over the walls, she knew why he wanted her to sing in his musical, and she knew he only wanted it to do well.

She sat down at the piano and lifted the cover up, sighing to herself as she ran a finger across the keys slowly. She used to love to play all the time, she used to spend all her spare time sitting at the piano at home, but she'd never gone back to it since she had sworn to give up singing though her parents still kept the piano, it went unused and sat gathering dust.

She pressed her finger down on one of the keys lightly, feeling a shiver down her spine when the note rang out, filling the room. She didn't move until the sound had died out and the room was filled with silence once again. She pressed down on the next key, smiling to her self only slightly as the sound filled her ears.

She raised her other hand up and positioned her fingers over the keys, and started to play. She sighed deeply as the first few notes of Hallelujah played out from the piano softly. Safe in the knowledge she was alone, she opened her mouth, and for the first time in months, started to sing. She closed her eyes and let herself slip away as the all too familiar lyrics rolled easily off the end of her tongue.

She smiled to herself, feeling a familiar happiness and comfort wash over her and she sang and played, this was how she loved it, just her and the music, nothing else. This was something she was good at, something she could just do. She'd always been talented singer, and for as long as she could remember, it had been the only thing that made her utterly happy. She'd dreamed for being a singer professionally for years, but after losing her faith in it, and herself, she was terrified of doing it professionally.

She opened her eyes, smiling as she finished the song and the last note slowly died out.

'That was fantastic' a voice said, making her jump. She span around and found Matt Wilding stood in the doorway, smiling at her. She smiled sheepishly and turned away, facing the piano again. He crossed the room and took the seat beside her.

'You're really good' he said, watching her as she traced her fingertips over the keys again. He really had been impressed with her, she'd hit every single note in the song, and it wasn't an easy one to sing, he could tell her voice was powerful, huge.

'I know' she said quietly 'that's the problem'

'What do you mean?' he asked.

She sighed and snapped the cover on the piano shut, it fell with a dull thud 'My voice is the whole problem. I know it's good, I know it's incredible' she sighed again 'I know I could go all the way in the music industry, I know I could easily pull of a Tina Turner song without breaking a sweat. The thing is, everyone else knew it too. I'm tired of having to sing on demand, being everyone's entertainment, I'm sick of being pressured about my voice all the time, from everyone'

'It can be hard when you have such an incredible talent, I know' he said quietly, trying not to wind her up, he could see she was already agitated 'but I'm sure the people closest to you only want you to do well'

She laughed sarcastically, shaking her head 'my family maybe, friends too. But if I make it big, they won't be the one's that matter will they? It'll be the record label, and they're just interested in money, nothing else. I'm just a profit then, and my happiness is just collateral in their eyes, nothing compared to the money they can make' she sighed 'I don't want that' she said.

He nodded 'I can see why, but you know, if you ever just want to sing, for yourself, you can come in here whenever you like' he said, smiling.

She smiled and nodded, standing up and picking her bag up 'Thanks Mr Wilding, I'll bear that in mind'


	16. Chapter 16

_I need your help. I am completely conflicted. I have the general plot for this story laid out, and I know one big thing I am definitely going to do, which you'll find out again, obviously. But I'm really unsure whether or not I'm going to have Weslie pursue music professionally; I need help with this decision. Tell me what you think I should do, what you'd like? Music career or not? Obviously if I did it, it'd be whilst she was still at school, but I'm really really unsure about it, so help please =]_

_Anyway, this one turned out a lot longer than I had expected, but enjoy anyway. _

Weslie lay on her bed late on a Friday night in the middle of April, stroking Stotch behind the ear with one hand, and flicking through endless channels of rubbish on her TV. She'd been out most of the night bowling with her three sisters and Amelia's boyfriend and was enjoying the comfort of her bed. It was late, almost 2am and she knew she should be asleep, but she'd rather stay awake and watch shit On TV for a few hours.

The dog was resting his head on her lap, and he was warm and heavy. She smiled to herself, tickling him behind the ears as he breathed deeply, falling asleep. She flicked through the channels slowly, until she stopped on one of the many film channels, watching a low budget disaster film. She smiled, the acting was terrible and the special effects looked ridiculous.

Her phone started to ring beside her. The dog woke up with a grumpy huff and rolled over onto his other side, going back to sleep as she reached out to pick up her phone, looking at the screen she saw it was Paul ringing, she smiled as she slid her phone up to answer it.

'Good evening Langley' she said, smirking as she pressed it to her ear.

'Evening Wes' he said cheerily 'I haven't woke you up have I?' he asked.

She laughed, shaking her head 'No, I was awake, watching TV' she said, picking the remote up and hitting the mute button, but continuing to flick through endless channels anyway. All the Connor children had satellite TV in their bedrooms, except Thomas, who their parents had decided was too young for it.

'Good' he said 'anyway, what are you doing tomorrow?' he asked.

She shrugged 'Nothing, why?'

'Fantastic!' he exclaimed, she laughed at how cute he sounded 'make sure you're up early and smelling of roses' he said 'Me, you and Bolton are going out tomorrow'

'Oh? Where are we off to?' she asked before adding in a mock annoyed tone of voice that Paul knew all to well, she was never really pissed off at him, though she often liked to pretend she was 'And I always smell very nicely thank you very much Mr Langley'

'I know, I know' he said 'You know I'm just playing'

She narrowed her eyes 'Yeah you better be Langley, or I'll have Stotch chew one of your scrawny legs off' she warned him.

Laugh laughed loudly 'you're joking aren't you? That daft ape loves me' he said, sounding sure of himself.

She snorted 'He'd still do it for me. And are you going to tell me where we're going or not?'

'Oh shit yeah, sorry' he said with a laugh 'There's one of them fun fairs in Broadfield Park this weekend, you know the type, rides, dodgy food out of a van, funny little games with shit prizes, sounds like a laugh, we're going, and you're coming to' he said, once again sounding very sure of himself 'You've got no say in the matter either' he assured her.

She laughed out loud, waking the dog again. He got up and gave her a grumpy look, getting off the bed and climbing onto the chair in the corner, curling into a ball and falling asleep again 'Food poisoning and getting ripped off, sound's great!' she exclaimed 'count me in' she smiled.

'Great!' he said enthusiastically 'we'll meet you at 11 tomorrow outside Asda, we'll get the train down' he said.

'Alright, I'll try and get my dad to take us down from Asda, he probably will' she said.

'Even better' he smiled 'right, I'll let you go, let you get your beauty sleep, you need it' he said cheekily, laughing.

'Oh har har' she said, rolling her eyes 'Hilarious, I see now why I'm such good friends with you' she said dryly 'I'll see you tomorrow, night Paul'

'Alright, night Wes, sleep tight' he said, hanging up. She smiled and tucked her phone away under the pillow, where she usually left it when she slept and turned the TV off. She got up and changed into pyjama's and after brushing her teeth and washing her face, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.

……

Weslie sat in the front of her dads' car fiddling with the radio, much to his dismay as he kept slapping her hands away every few seconds. In the back seat Bolton and Paul were sat either side of Thomas, who was playing with a Nintendo DS he had gotten for his sixth birthday in January, both boys looked terrified of the child.

'Will you behave please?' Her father snapped 'you're worse than Thomas'

She sniggered, still fiddling with the radio 'No I'm not, he's a terror' she said, turning round to pull tongues at her brother, who gasped dramatically and swung his little fist at her. She laughed and batted his hand away. She adored her little brother, he was just too much fun and too easy to wind up.

'Leave him alone Weslie!' he said as he turned into the car park of Broadfield Park and parked up. The fair was at the other end of the park, but it was only a short walk over there. The boys opened the back doors and got out, after thanking her father for the lift.

'Do you need me to pick you up?' He asked, leaning across passenger seat to talk to her as she got out.

'I dunno, I'll ring you if I do' she said.

'Alright' he said, taking his wallet out and pulling out four twenty pound notes, handing them to her 'Don't be out too late okay?'

She rolled her eyes 'yes daddy' she droned, pushing the door shut. She opened the back door, leaned in, kissed Thomas and then shut his door, running to catch up with the boys as she heard the car drive away.

'Wait for me!' she called, jogging to them.

'Don't take so long next time then' Paul said, giving her a little shove with the arm he has just linked in with hers. It only took them a few minutes to cross the park to the fair. The music was loud, blaring out from most of the rides, some of which were small, for kids, others big, obviously intended for teens and adults. Amongst the rides were a tonne of little stalls, most of them games that were usually fixed so the player always won small prizes, ensuring maximum profit, and as Paul had predicted, there were plenty of burger fans doted around the place.

'Right' Bolton said rubbing his hands together, an excited look in his eyes 'what's first?'

'That!' Paul said pointing to a huge ride, which was a tall mechanical arm with three rows of seats suspended from the top with nothing to support the riders' feet. As they waited for their turn, they watched the arm spinning, as the seats span in the opposite direction. Weslie looked up at it warily.

'You okay Wes?' Paul asked as they moved forward in the line and paid the man in the booth, walking to take their seats.

'Mmm-hmm' she said, nodded as they walked along the metal platform that the ride was build into 'I'm just a big wimp' she smiled, blushing.

He laughed and Bolton, who was behind her clapped her on the back 'You'll be alright Wes' Bolton assured her as they took their seats, and the safety harnesses came down over their chests to hold them into place. Weslie made a little grunt of discomfort when it pressed against her.

A minute later, they felt a jerk and the ride started to lift them. Bolton laughed with excitement 'here we go man!' he exclaimed. Paul looked at Weslie and gave her a smile. She gave him one back, along with a nervous look. He winked at her and took hold of her hand, lacing his fingers in between hers. His hand was warm and soft, especially for a boy.

The ride pulled them up and started to spin; fast. She could see out across Rochdale as the ride span them through the air. She didn't scream, though she felt like it, and could hear Bolton and Paul both laughing beside her, though Paul kept a tight grip on her hand until the ride had stopped and they were safely back on solid ground, feeling dizzy.

'That was awesome!' Paul exclaimed as they walked away, Bolton laughed and nodded in agreement. They spent the rest of the afternoon riding the biggest and scariest rides around, always to Weslie's dismay, though she liked holding hands with Paul, who always insisted on it whenever they went on something she was wary of. She didn't want to admit she was scared of some of them, and she didn't want the boys to think she was too scared to go on any, so she went on everything they suggested and pretended she wasn't unsure about it, though Paul could tell she wasn't too keen on some of them.

'Can we get something to eat?' Weslie asked at about 4pm, they'd been around the fair for hours and she hadn't eaten since that morning.

'Good idea' Bolton said, rubbing his stomach 'I'm starving man' they went to the nearest burger van, where Weslie bought them all lunch.

'What meat do you reckon this is?' Weslie asked as they took seats on an empty bench 'Dog? Cat? Badger?' she said it casually, biting into her own hot dog, the boys both looked at her, astounded.

'Probably rat' Paul said, after considering his burger for a moment and deciding he trusted it, taking a bite.

'Better than the school dinners anyway' Weslie said, smirking and looking sideways at Bolton, waiting for a moment until he had realised what she said. He frowned and punched her in the shoulder, exclaiming 'Oi! My mum's a boss cook innit!' Paul and Weslie laughed.

A little while later, she was walking around the stalls with Bolton, Paul had gone looking at something a few minutes ago and they had decided to have a look round whilst he was doing whatever it was he was doing.

'Yo man' Bolton said, half running half skipping over to one of the games and fishing in his pocket for money 'I well gotta win a hammer' he said, pointing to the inflatable hammers.

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter of the circular stall as he paid the woman behind it and she gave him a long stick with a hook on the end, so he could hook a duck to win a prize.

He looked almost gleeful as he caught a duck and the woman took it off the end of the stick, and handed him his prize, which was an inflatable hammer 'Nice!' he exclaimed, admiring it and hitting Weslie round the back of the head with it. She made a grab for it and missed as he pulled it out of her way, only to hit her with it again, laughing as he did.

'Oi, pack it in you two' Paul said, reappearing as she made to pop the hammer with a plastic fork she had in her pocket from the burger van 'Look Wes, I won you something' he said excitedly with a huge grin across his face, holding it up for her to see.

He was holding a small clear plastic box, with a blue lid and a little red handle, inside three quarters of it were filled with water, and there was a thin layer of orange, yellow and blue gravel lining the floor, and a little gold fish, swimming around in the water. She smiled and took the little fish tank from him.

'Oh he's _adorable_' She said, watching him swim back and forth 'Thanks Paul' she smiled, giving him a tight hug. Paul smiled when she let him go, impressed with himself.

'What you gonna call him?' he asked as they walked away, avoiding a swing from Bolton's hammer.

'Hmmm' she thought about it 'I think I'll call him Leopold' she watched him for a moment 'yeah, Leopold's a good name' she said, nodding. Paul grinned. Bolton gave him a nudge with his shoulder, nodding to Weslie when he looked at him.

'What?' he asked, when his friend wouldn't stop nodding and smirking.

Bolton leaned in to whisper to him whilst she was distracted by the fish 'You want her man'

Paul scowled and hissed 'shut up'


	17. Chapter 17

Weslie was late. She had overslept and then had a lengthy argument with her mother about her behaviour and attitude. It had been an explosive one, Weslie had refused to back down and admit she'd done any wrong, and the argument had only ended when Weslie threatened to move out. They had then driven to school, an uncomfortable silence between them. Weslie only looked down at her phone when she got out of the car and saw she had 2 missed calls and 4 texts from Paul.

She groaned, and bit her lip, she was seriously late and probably in a lot of trouble. She slid her phone up and started to read the texts, the first one read _'where are you wes? x' _She went on to the second which she had received five minutes after the first, which said _'are you coming in? hurry up x' _she hurried in through the gates.

The play ground was completely deserted, everyone was inside, and she could see pupils sat by the windows of their classrooms. She opened the third text said, sent another ten minutes after the second _'is something wrong? ring me please xx' _she felt guilty she hadn't replied to any of his texts. She opened the fourth, which was only 4 minutes old and said _'you better get here soon if your coming, your not gonna be happy xx' _she frowned, confused what he meant by that.

She hurried inside, through the huge main doors, running down the corridors, past the full classrooms, her footsteps echoing down the empty halls. She turned the corner into the arts corridor and skidded to a halt at the door to the music room, pulling the door open and bustling in, catching her breath.

'Sorry I'm late Mr Wilding' she said, tidying herself 'I was-' she looked up when her ears realised what they were listening to. Her stomach dropped a mile, her eyes widened and she felt sick, she felt her cheeks turn red.

She recognised her own voice, how couldn't she. A terrible sense of dread fell over her and she looked up and found the entire class, all her friends, sat around the television, watching the video of her last ever stage production. It was only a few months old, not even a year, but she never wanted to see it again. She swallowed hard as every face turned to look at her, Paul got up from his seat warily, he took a cautious step toward her. She didn't look at him, but instead stared straight ahead of herself at the screen, watching the miniature version of herself singing as Judas.

She knew the scene well, the last supper; it was in the second half of the play, over an hour in. She knew they'd watched a huge chunk of it, more than they had time to in a single lesson that wasn't even over yet, so she could only assume they had been skipping the past the scenes she wasn't in.

'Where did you get this?' she asked, snapping out of her daze and taking a step forwards, pointing at the screen but looking at Matt Wilding. She was furious, breathing hard. He picked up the remote and paused the DVD, looking at her nervously.

'Don't get upset' he said, walking around to the front of the room 'I just thought your classmates might like to see you in action' he said calmly and with a small smile, nodding at the TV and paused image of herself mid song.

She took another step forwards, her hands shaking with anger 'Where did you get it?' she repeated, her voice low and furious, dangerous.

Wilding swallowed hard 'Your old school sent it out, I phoned them and asked for a copy' he said quietly.

Her hands balled into angry fists and her face contorted, her eyebrows creased and her jaw clenched. Paul edged closer to her and took her hand in both of his, uncurling it and lacing his fingers with hers, she didn't look at him, but stared at Matt 'Weslie' he whispered, leaning in close and squeezing her hand, trying to get her to look at him, it worked, she flicked her gaze over to him and her expression softened 'he didn't mean any harm' he whispered to her.

She shook her head, sighing 'I know, but I don't want this Paul' she whispered back to him 'I don't want this attention anymore' her eyes snapped back to Mr Wilding. The room was still quiet, all of them watching her. No one had known she was that talented and had been completely surprised to see who was on the stage when he had put that DVD on, but now her fury silenced them.

'Why?' she asked bitterly, feeling the anger rise in her again 'why? I told you I didn't want any of this anymore' her hands started shaking again and Paul tightened his grip his other hand taking hold of her arm, above the elbow. He whispered to her, trying to calm her down, but not a single word went in.

'I'm sorry Weslie' Matt said 'I just think you have a talent that shouldn't go to waste, you should be singing. I thought if you saw it, and how much everyone likes you, you might want to sing again' he said hopefully.

'THAT ISN'T YOUR CHOICE TO MAKE!' She exploded, taking steps forward threateningly. Paul grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. Bolton was up on his feet, helping Paul to drag her back and trying to calm her down.

'I DON'T WANT THIS!' She screamed, angrier than she had ever been in her life 'I DON'T WANT ANY OF THIS! I DON'T WANT TO SING, I DON'T WANT TO BE IN YOUR STUPID PLAY. I DON'T CARE HOW TALENTED I AM! I DON'T SING! I DON'T WANT TO BE THE PERFORMING MONKEY ANYMORE!' Paul grabbed her around the waist and dragged her backwards out of the room. She fought against him hard, furious. She wanted to go back in their and scream at him, break something, really make him sorry. Bolton followed them outside, where Paul let go of her once the door was shut and Bolton was stood in front of it, making sure she couldn't get back inside.

She turned away from the boys as soon as she was outside, her hands on her head. Neither said anything, scared of another outbreak. She said nothing, breathing hard.

When she turned back around she looked at Paul for a split second in an almost pleading way, then burst into tears and threw herself at him, hiding her face in his shoulder and crying hard. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair said and trying to calm her down 'Shh, it's alright Wes, it's okay I'm here' he said, holding the back of her head gently. Bolton started to rub her shoulder.

'I – I – I don't w-want this' she sobbed, gripping the back of Pauls jacket tight, her hands balled into fists.

'It's alright, you don't have to' he said quietly. He'd never seen her cry before, neither of them had, she was always calm and cool around them, never let anything get to her, and he was glad of it, he certainly did _not _like her crying. In part, it scared him, for it to make her cry, he knew this was something that had gotten to her badly 'No one's going to make you do anything, I promise'

'Y-you can't kno-know th-that' she sobbed, looking up at him desperately.

'We can' Bolton said firmly 'because we aint gonna let 'em Wes' she smiled at him, feeling a sudden rush of affection towards him.

'What's going on here?' Miss Mason asked, hurrying down the corridor to them 'I heard shouting, what's going on?' she looked worried. Weslie looked up at her from Paul's shoulder, but didn't move away from him. He tightened his grip around her shoulders and started to stroke her hair again 'Weslie what's wrong?' she asked, looking concerned and leaning close to her.

'Mr Wilding showed a DVD miss' Bolton explained 'It was Wes in a musical at her old school, but she didn't want anyone to see it' Paul felt her chest shudder as she drew in a ragged breath, trying to stop her sobs.

'Alright' she said sighing and giving Weslie shoulder a rub 'Paul can you take her to the bathroom please? Help her clean herself up, Bolton will you come with me please? I need to find out what happened' she said sighing, both boys nodded. Weslie pulled away from Paul, who put his arm around her waist as they started to walk away, holding her hand with his other hand.

Miss Mason opened the door to Matt's room, where the class were all talking excitedly 'Mr Wilding, will you come with me please?' she asked. He nodded and told his class to work on some work sheets on his desk, following her out.


	18. Chapter 18

_Two today, you lucky badgers. Yes I know this is reaching you just past midnight, but I finished it at 11.57, I need time to upload it, so it counts as two in day. I would've updated yesterday, but you know, it was the FA cup final so I went the pub to watch it, drank cocktails and got pretty wasted. Good times =] enjoy & review. _

Paul kept hold of her hand as his arm around her waist as he steered her away from the classroom and towards the girl toilets, holding the door open for her and following her inside, though he wasn't entirely sure he should do. Although it was the middle of lesson time and Miss Mason had told him to take her and help her clean herself up, it felt a little strange being in the girls' bathroom.

He ushered her inside and let the door swing shut behind them. She'd calmed down a considerable amount now and had stopped crying, which he was thankful for. He watched her as she crossed the bathroom and hoisted herself up to sit on one of the sinks. She looked down, avoiding his eye, embarrassed.

He went into one of the stalls and got a wad of toilet tissue, handing it to her.

'Thanks' she mumbled with a weak smile, using it to dry her face. She'd made a mess of it with all that crying, no doubt it was red and blotchy now.

' s'alright' he said, standing in front of her, watching her clean her face up, then throw the screwed up tissue into the bin by the door 'you okay Wes?' he asked once she was done.

She looked up at him and smiled, nodding 'I'm fine' she assured him, putting on her best calm face for him, though she knew it useless, they were incredibly close and he could read her better than anyone else she knew 'it was nothing, I overreacted' she said, waving her hand in a dismissive way.

He shook his head 'No, you didn't. He shouldn't have put that on'

She smiled and laughed in a feeble sort of manner 'too late now, he did it and everyone saw' she said. She looked down at her hands, thinking hard. Thinking about the DVD and how it felt when she was up on that stage, the pressure from everyone. The entire cast relying on her to carry them if anything went wrong, her teachers and vocal coach relying on her to make them look good, her parents desperate for her to make them proud, to make them look good in front of their friends, the audience, wanting to hear the proclaimed superstar in action, desperate for her to live up to their expectations and her rapidly growing reputation.

It was all her, it always was. She was the entertainment, it was her who had to hit the huge notes, the impressive solos, it was her who had to make the crowd gasp and clap, her who had to give them the goose bumps when she hit one of those incredible notes. She could feel their eyes burning into her skull, all of her teachers and coaches watching her from the wings, she had to do well, and doing anything other than well was in their eyes unacceptable, because she was it, their tool. Their show piece they could whip out any time they liked, just to prove they had something, that they were better than the rest, and it was never about the singing anymore.

All those familiar feelings came back to her and she started to cry again, sobbing quietly and less violently than before, but she felt it just the same. Paul sighed deeply again and stepped forward to wrap his arms around her, holding her safe in his arms whilst she cried. She stayed there for a few minutes, until her tears stopped, but her head remained on his shoulder. She felt calmer than she had done all day, staring at nothing, just thinking and breathing, safe with her friend.

'This is how it starts' she said, pulling away from him and looking down at her hands again, which where still shaking.

'How what starts?' he asked, confused.

'Everything' she mumbled 'they've heard it now, he'll show Mason and Lawson, and they'll want to hear it. So I'll have to show them, and they'll like it, a lot. So they'll want me to show others, then I'll have to perform in front of the school, and before you know it I'm back to be being the juke box' she sighed and looked up, tears still on her face, running a hand through her hair.

'No, you don't have to' he said, taking her hands and squeezing them tightly, making sure he had her full attention and she knew how serious he was 'you don't have to do anything you don't want to, ever'

She smiled at him and sighed, she was so lucky to have friends like him and Bolton, loyal and true, there with her through it all, she couldn't ask for more from either of them, but a small, tiny piece of her, buried deep deep inside her, wanted more 'That's just it' she said, looking him in the eye 'I don't know what I want'

He looked at her curiously 'do you want to sing?'

She sighed again and though for a moment, her heart pined for it, but she was terrified 'Honestly? Yes, I do' she admitted. Paul smiled, but she didn't. She hid her face in her hands and resisted the urge to cry again 'I want it so badly Paul, I want it more than anything'

'Then do it' he said simply, wearing one of his usual grins that she loved.

She smiled weakly 'I'm scared to' she whispered.

'Of what?'

'Singing' she said, staring him hard in the face 'I'm scared it'll be how it was at my old school. All they wanted me for was my voice, all the time, just to sing for them. I never got away from it, I stopped being Weslie, and I started being the girl that sings' she laughed bitterly and shook her head 'I want to be Weslie' she whispered.

'You want to know something?' he asked quietly, he sounded more serious than he had ever done. She frowned, confused and curious, and nodded 'I'm scared, every day, coming to this place, I'm scared'

She frowned again and held her hand out, asking for his, he smiled and took hers 'why?'

He sighed deeply 'Because of my life' she said nothing, but watched him still confused 'If I wasn't friends with Bolton, I'd be bullied'

She shook her head 'why would anyone ever bully you?'

He laughed bitterly 'why wouldn't they? I've got a mother who killed herself and an loony uncle who used to hit me, now I'm living with a random foster carer' he ran a hand down his face 'I'm the kid no one wants around' he whispered, she got down from the sink and walked to him. She said nothing, but put her arms around him.

'That's not true' she whispered 'Bolton wants you around and so do I' she said, pulling her head back to look at him. He looked down at her, a small smile on her lips, her eyes red and her cheeks tear stained, she was frightfully pretty. He looked at her lips, plump and soft, smiling at him. They said nothing, just stared at each other, both of them feeling the others arms around them. She felt him moving slowly closer to her.

'Weslie? Paul? Are you in here?' They heard Miss Masons voice call from outside. Weslie blinked and pulled away from him quickly, blushing a violent red.

'Yeah we're here' Paul said, also blushing and avoiding her eye.

Miss Mason walked in, smiling at the pair of them 'are you alright Weslie?' she asked her.

Wes nodded and picked her bag up, anything to occupy herself with 'Yeah, I'm okay' she said breathlessly.

The head smiled broadly 'Great, well I've spoken to Matt, he's apologised and given me the DVD' she said, taking it from her pocket and handing it to Weslie, who stuffed it away in her bag hastily 'And we've agreed that you don't have to sing a single note unless you want to' she said, still smiling.

'Thanks Miss' Weslie said, as Mason held the door open and Paul followed her out.

'Fantastic, well lesson's almost over, I suggest you go find Bolton outside your next lesson and wait for that, okay?' she said, looking between the teens, who nodded and hurried to leave. They walked down the corridor in silence. They shared a silent glance and a nervous smile each, Pauls' stomach settled, he thought she'd be too embarrassed to even look at him.

'You really okay?' he asked.

She nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear 'Yeah, I'm really fine, I just want everyone to forget this now'

He smiled and clapped her on the arm 'come on, I'm sure Bolton's dying to tell us the details of Wildings bollocking' he said with an excited grin.

She laughed aloud and nodded 'I can't wait!' she exclaimed as they sped up and hurried off to find their friend together.


	19. Chapter 19

The end of turn was looming over the heads of Waterloo Roads staff and pupils, and Matts' play had arrived, it first performance being only hours away. All pupils involved with the musical had been taken out of ordinary lessons for the day and were practicing in the hall. Weslie had been dreading its approach, fearful of Matt asking her again to perform for him as the time edged rapidly closer. But she was spared any of that by Mika Granger, who had agreed to do the musical, after a chat with Rachel Mason.

Much to Weslie's dismay, the showing of her performance had not been forgotten as easily as she would've liked. She had always known it would come out eventually and that it wouldn't die down like she wanted to but, she could still hope. She became a topic of conversation in almost every classroom and corridor and most probably the staff room as well. She knew the people who had seen that DVD, namely Danielle Harker and Aleesha Dillon, had little ability to keep their mouths shut, and had made sure everyone knew what they had seen by the end of the day.

She had been prepared for it, but certainly didn't enjoy it. She spent the rest of the day being pointed at and whispered about in corridors as she went from lesson to lesson with Paul and Bolton, there were even a few people brave enough to come and ask her to prove she had the voice rumour speculated she did. She bit her tongue and smiled politely; declining the offer of performing in front of people she didn't know in the middle of the corridor.

As the end of term drew closer, the talk about her died down, but didn't stop completely, though it had lessened considerably, people still asked her to sing for them, they wanted proof of what they had been told.

All of this had brought something new out in her, desire. She felt she wanted to sing again, she liked the attention her classmates who had seen the DVD where giving her, just adoration, encouragement and a sense of how impressed they were. She was starting to realise just how much she did miss singing. She knew she still loved it, she loved nothing more than she loved singing. And singing to people always gave her a buzz like nothing else she had ever experienced; she loved their applause and their cheers when she hit a seemingly impossible note with ease. She loved being on the stage, owning it, dominating it, it was her playground and she made the rules up there, and no one dared to challenge her.

'What you doing out here?' A voice said, bringing Weslie back to reality, she had been stood leaning against the wall outside the hall, listening to them practice. She looked up; Janeece and Maxine were walking towards here 'shouldn't you be inside?' Janeece asked, nodding at the hall, her arms crossed over her chest.

Weslie stood up straight and shook her head 'I'm not performing, Mika's doing it' she explained.

Maxine scoffed 'Mika's rubbish compared to you, apparently' she said.

Weslie smiled 'so they say' she said, shrugging her shoulders.

'Is it true?' Maxine asked, leaning closer to her, Weslie had always liked Maxine, and couldn't get mad at her curiosity like she did with the others 'can you really sing like as good as Christina Aguilera or something?' she asked.

Weslie fidgeted, playing with one of the straps on her bag 'I'm good' she said sighing 'I've sung a few Christina songs'

'Can we see the DVD?' Janeece asked.

Weslie laughed, she knew full well as much as she liked the girls, and they liked her, that was definitely not something they could keep between themselves 'Sorry, I don't have it on me' she said, shrugging. Maxine scowled and the girls slouched off, leaning Weslie alone, to listen and think again.

……

'Are you gonna watch the musical?' Paul asked, as he, Bolton and Weslie walked down the corridor on their way out after lunch. They could hear commotion on the hall. The musical had been brought forward to that very afternoon, instead of during the evening. Miss Mason had been desperate to impress the governors' and had promised them a matinee performance, something Matt was not at all happy about.

'I dunno, maybe' She shrugged, watching her own feet walking 'what about you two?'

'Nahh man' Bolton said 'not my thing' he shrugged. They carried on walking until they heard agitated voices, they turned the corner and found Matt Wilding and Rachel Mason talking, Matt was clearly worked up.

'I can't do it Rachel' he hissed, running a hand through already messy hair.

'You have to Matt, I've promised them a play!' she exclaimed, just as worked up as he was 'you have to get them on that stage now'

'I can't, they're not ready' he said, looking down at his watch.

'I need you to do this' she pleaded with him 'they're already in there and I told them it was starting ten minutes ago. Please Matt'

He sighed and hung his head 'Fine, but I need another five minutes to get them ready'

'I'm sorry, but you need to get them on stage now, we don't have five minutes, I can't leave them sat there any longer' she said solemnly.

Matt sighed again 'Don't you have anyone who can keep them entertained for just a few minutes?' he asked.

Weslie closed her eyes and stepped forward, swallowing hard 'I can do it' she said. They both turned to look at her. Paul and Bolton both stared at her, confused 'I'll sing for them, one song' she said.

Matts face cracked into a wide smile and he raced over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders 'are you sure about this?'

She smiled and shrugged 'what harm is one song going to do?' she said, feeling a lot less confident than she sounded.

He smiled again and pulled her into a brief hug, Rachel beside him 'Oh thank you so much Weslie' she exclaimed, also smiling a broad grin 'come on' she said, taking hold of Weslie by the shoulders, brushing Matts hands away 'we need to get you up there now' she said.

Weslie said nothing as they steered her into the hall through the back entrance at the back of the music room, she could hear Paul and Bolton hurrying along behind them. It had only been seconds since she had volunteered herself to sing and the weight of her words were starting to settle in.

She had been all up for it when she was stood outside the hall, listening to them singing. It had made her miss it, the way it felt being up on stage. But now it was just seconds away, she was starting to wonder if she actually did want it back, and was feeling sick.

Paul and Bolton went with her as she was bundled backstage, past questioning glares of the pupils performing in the musical.

'Do you need any backing music?' Matt whispered to her.

'No' she said, staring straight ahead of herself, eyes wide and face pale 'just the piano'

He nodded 'good, it's just out on the right side of the hall, by the stage, we'll get a spot light on you okay?' he said, sounding breathless. She nodded and said nothing, he beamed and patted her shoulders, before hurrying off to help his students prepare and make sure everyone in the hall could see Weslie.

Paul turned to her now they had a moment 'Are you absolutely sure you want this?' he asked.

She shook her head, still staring straight ahead 'I don't know' she whispered.

'You don't have to do it man' Bolton said, shaking her shoulder, trying to get her attention.

She swallowed hard 'I know, but I need to do this' she said. Out on the stage, they could hear Rachel Mason addressing the crowd that had already gathered, apologising for the delay and introducing Weslie.

She looked at Paul, her eyes wide with fear 'you'll stay and watch me, won't you?' she asked, looking between him and Bolton.

'Of course we will' Paul said firmly, Bolton nodding at his side 'we'll be out front in a minute, you'll be fine' she smiled weakly.

'Weslie Connor ladies and gentlemen' she heard Miss Mason call loudly, and the applause started. A shiver ran down her spine, it had been a long time since she'd stood in that position, hearing her name like that and the reaction that came with it. She took deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, listening to the sound of the boys hurrying a way, rushing round to take seats out front. She stepped out onto the stage.

She could see Miss Mason, stood smiling at her, and the faces in the crowd, a lot of them she didn't know, but many of her classmates she did recognise. Janeece and Maxine were out there, looking up at her in shock. Danielle and Aleesha, pens out ready for the school newspaper, and Paul and Bolton, hurrying in through the doors, clapping and smiling at her. She looked out at them for a moment, and then walked down the small steps off the stage and to the piano, where she took a seat.

She had less than a second to decide what song she was going to play, and decided to go with the first one that came to her. She pressed her fingers down and started to play, she let a long slow breath out as her fingers played the first notes of My Immortal; a song she knew was popular and could pull off easily.

She paid no attention to the reactions of the people in the room as she played and sung, looking only down at her fingers and up at Paul and Bolton every so often, who gave her smiles of encouragement. The song seemed to take an age to play, she concentrated hard on the notes and the words, letting her self disappear into them and giving it her all, blocking out the reactions of the people nearest to her, then at long last it was over and the last note was ringing out from her mouth and the piano quietly. Then it was silent. She sat for a second, looking at her hands still on the piano.

She heard them clapping, her school mates cheering, her best friends calling her name. She looked up at the room; they were all applauding her, smiling at her. She got to her feet, feeling overwhelmed and fighting back the tears that were in her eyes and smiled at them, taking a short bow. She walked quickly around the piano and down the hall to the door, pushing it open and hurrying out into the main entrance. She almost ran to the doors and out down the steps, breathing in deeply.

'Wes? Wes are you okay?' She heard Paul ask as he and Bolton came out through the doors behind her.

She turned to them, smiling wider than she had done in a long, long time.

She laughed, feeling lighter than air 'I'm fantastic' she said, grinning broadly 'I'm amazing, that was amazing!' she exclaimed pointing at the hall.

The boys both smiled at her 'you were incredible' Paul said, pulling her into a hug.

She pulled away and smiled at him 'I know' she nodded 'I want it back' she said, completely sure of herself 'I want it all back, I have to have it'


	20. Chapter 20

_A few things for you today. One, we've reached our final chapter, I hope you've enjoyed =]_

_No I'm kidding, we're nowhere near the end. I've been looking at this for a while now in three stages, stage one, which is series 3, is now done. I'm trying to get each done in about 20 chapters, which I've managed with this one, so we've got a while left to go._

_Secondly, I forgot to mention last chapter, I'm fully aware the musical was at the end of the first half of the series, but I didn't want to do it so early in the story, so I moved it to the end of the school year, but you can live with that. _

_Thirdly, I made a cock up in chapter 15, her little brother is NOT called Thomas, that was her older brother, I'll get round to fixing that soon, sorry for the mix up. _

_Finally, as you've gathered, I've been in part sticking to some of the storyline of the show, I don't like rewriting episodes in full, so I try to avoid using their dialogue, but I always wanted to do this one, so I did, but of course I have my own parts written in, apologise for stealing their work. Enjoy =]_

Weslie sat at the back of Tom Clarkson's classroom, staring out of the window and tapping her pen on the desk absent mindedly, a content smile on her face.

The last week of term had gone well for her. After her performance before Matt's musical, she found she had become incredibly popular overnight. Now that she had proven she could sing, and those who were desperate to know were satisfied, everyone wanted to congratulate her. Janeece and Maxine had been incredibly impressed, and wasted no time in telling her they had filmed her performance on Maxine's phone and were off to show the rest of the school.

A lot of her regular classmates had missed the performance and Matt Wilding was so happy with her, that she agreed to perform again in his music room, for her classmates, but hadn't really sung much since that.

On the last day of term Waterloo Road were playing host to a friendly competition with another local school Forest Mount, Waterloo Road's posh rivals. It was going to be held in two stages, the first being a spelling bee, and the second a football match between each schools girls team. Waterloo Road's team had been allowed to reform for the match and the girls had been busy in training for the last two weeks.

She knew she should really be concentrating on her work, but the football match was playing on her mind, as well as Mr Clarkson's and so he let her and any other girls he had taught that morning who where in his team concentrate on whatever was keeping their nerves calm, and for Weslie it was fantasising about flying out to Greece with her family in a week.

She was glad to be back in normal lessons too, as Paul had been taken off the Lessons for Life due to the progress he had been making, they had both been put back in the mainstream, and Paul would be sitting the GCSE's at the end of next year.

The bell rang loudly and the class got up excitedly, packing their things away 'alright, alright calmly now folks' Mr Clarkson said, as the class started to hurry out, on the way downstairs to the spelling bee. They went downstairs and followed the thick mass of students making their way into the hall, filing into seats on the on the left hand side of the hall.

Weslie slid into a seat in between Paul and Bolton, near the rest of her football team.

'Okay everyone, thank you thank you, can we please welcome the spelling teams from Forrest Mount and Waterloo Road!' Matt Wildings voice called over the hall. The teams walked out to loud, thunderous applause and shouts of encouragement from the Waterloo Road students. The football team were on their feet, riled up and ready for it, it wasn't hard to tell there was going to be an electric atmosphere at the football match that afternoon.

The students up on the stage gave their all, concentrating hard spelling the words Matt read out to them, every so often someone would make a cock up, resulting in groans from their schoolmates and cheers from the rival school. They continued like that for almost thirty minutes and for a while the scores were pretty even, then it came down to the last word, and both teams were on 55 points.

And it came down to Karla Bentham 'Karla this is the last word' Matt saw saying slowly 'if you get this correct, Waterloo Road are the winners' he took in a deep breath 'your word is, claustrophobia'

She breathed in calmly and said 'Claustrophobia, C L A U S T R O P H O B I A' Matt grinned and slammed his hand down on the bell, they had won.

The Waterloo Road students were up on their feet screaming and cheering their team as Rachel Mason got up to give her speech.

'I can't believe Karla did it' Paul said, leaning close to talk into her ear over the noise of the Waterloo Road students.

'She's really smart' Weslie said as they took their seats and Rachel started talking.

'Why didn't you do the spelling bee?' he asked, he knew she was smart, a lot smarter than she made out she was.

'I'm in the football team aren't I' she said, smiling 'we can't be too hard on them, having someone as skilled as me on both teams' she winked. Paul laughed and gave her a friendly shove.

'Lets hope Miss Koreshi and Mr Clarkson have done just as good a job with the football team!' Mason said. The team started chanting, up on their feet, ready for it.

'Now, as you know, this had been my first year at Waterloo Road' she continued 'and it's been a wonderful year, just getting to know you all, and I hope you feel the same way' she smiled.

'Yeah but they don't know you do they' A voice said at the back of the room. Every head in the hall turned round to look at Stuart Hordley, who had once held the contract for the new school building, but had since been disgraced 'Not really, they don't know the truth do they, Amanda? Yeah, that's her real name see, or at least it was, when she was a prostitute'

The room gasped collectively, Eddie Lawson was up on his feet 'Ey!'

'That's right boys and girls, your Miss Mason used to earn her living on her back!' he said spitefully.

Weslie turned to look at Pauls shocked face as Mr Lawson started pushing Stuart Hordley out of the hall angrily 'no way' she whispered 'he's got to be lying' Paul nodded. Matt Wilding and Tom Clarkson got up, helping Lawson get him out as he accused Eddie of trying to 'get into her knickers now' as he put it.

Eddie got up onto the stage, where Rachel was stood, frozen in shock. He tried to get her down, but she wasn't moving. She looked up to address them 'What that man just said was true, I was a prostitute, it was a long time ago, it was the worst time of my life. I, I feel very ashamed about it' the hall was in silence as she spoke, all faces staring at her own 'and um, I, I've kept it a secret, for all this time' she was close to tears 'if I thought for one second that my, my um past would in any way damage this school, then I would leave, but that's not for me to decide' and she walked away, leaving the hall in a stunned silence.

Karla started to clap, saying that it was a good speech, and Eddie Lawson agreed with her, also clapping, and soon every pair of Waterloo Road hands were clapping, on their feet, showing their appreciation and love for Rachel Mason. Bolton was clapping hard, fiercely. Weslie knew he was fond of Rachel, she had done a lot for him, and he would defend her through this.

'Okay, let's calm down now, I think it's best if we all go back to our classrooms for the time being' The deputy said, as they got up onto their feet and started moving out, grumbling and complaining, the girls still wanted to play their football match.

They sat in their form room with Miss Koreshi, Bolton sat on his own, saying nothing, but listening to the way the other boys spoke about her disrespectfully. One of the boys had a piece of paper, an old newspaper scan, an article on vice crackdowns, and a picture of Rachel Mason, he was showing the others.

Bolton could hear them laughing, and feel his temper about to get the better of him 'Shut up yeah' he spat 'just shut up about her okay'

'Chill out' Paul said from his seat beside Weslie, leaning over the desk to look at the old scan 'we're only having a laugh'

'Well it's not funny' Bolton said angrily.

The other boy laughed and held the paper up for Bolton to see 'it's well funny' he said, smirking 'our headmistress, was a hooker'

He lost it, he got up from his seat and threw himself at him, punching him hard in the face, knocking him to the ground, Miss Koreshi was on his feet, shouting at him to calm down as three of his classmates grabbed him and pulled him back 'You know nothing!' he screamed angrily 'that guy shouting his mouth off is scum, all right?'

'Get out and cool down now!' Miss Koreshi called, shoving Bolton out of the door. He marched out, his temper bubbling. Miss Koreshi ushered her class back into their seats.

Paul sighed heavily 'He didn't take that well did he' he noted.

Weslie shrugged 'Mason's done a lot for him, he's bound to stand up for her' she said.

'I guess' he nodded 'do you think she's gonna get the sack?'

'I don't know' she said honestly 'But this isn't going to bode well for her at all'

They stayed in with Miss Koreshi for the next hour or so, talking about their plans for the summer. Weslie was excited about Greece and promised to bring Paul a present back. The rest of the morning was dull, they had no work to do as it was the last day of term, and the football match had been cancelled.

Weslie finally got up from her seat in mid afternoon and went down to Miss Koreshi's desk, Paul behind her.

'What is it Wes?' She asked looking up.

'Is it okay if we go to the library miss?' she asked.

Miss Koreshi nodded 'sure, I don't see why not, just the two of you okay?' they both nodded and hurried out into the corridor.

'The library?' Paul asked, perplexed 'what are going there for?' he asked, following her with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

'We're not' she said, linking her arm in with his 'I was just bored of being stuck in there, I wanna get something from the vending machine' she said with a mischievous grin, walking down towards the canteen.

'So what are we-' a sound like nothing they had ever heard ripped through the building and the canteen exploded. Weslie caught a glimpse of the ball of fire as the sheer force of it knocked her off her feet.

Her ears were ringing, and she could feel Paul moving beside her. She groaned, her head was pounding and slowly got up onto her hands and knees. She opened her eyes and looked down; she could see a small pool of blood between her hands, which were covered in dust and soot, and reached up to feel her head. She winced in pain when her hand touched the gash in the side of her head. She could feel a sharp, stabbing pain in her hip and had to lift her knee up off the ground, taking the weight off the leg. Around her she could hair the alarms ringing and fire raging in the canteen, which they weren't far from, if they had been just a few seconds earlier, the fire would have engulfed them.

'Paul?' she called out, coughing and covering her eyes, the fire was burning unbearably hot, she coughed again, the air thick in her mouth 'Paul where are you?' she said, reaching out through the smoke.

'I'm here' his voice said, coughing too. He reached out and found her hand. She sat up and leaned back against the wall, coughing hard, her head spinning and throbbing 'are you alright?' he said, crawling over to her. Paul's face was covered in tiny cuts and he was clutching his hand close to his chest, fearing for two broken fingers.

'My head, I've hit my head' she said as he took hold of her face and moved it from side to side, looking for damage. He swallowed hard; the cut was deeper than he thought it would've been and blood was running down the side of her head, staining the neck and shoulder of her shirt a sickening red, working its way down her arm and chest.

'I feel dizzy' she said, her eyes drifting in and out of focus.

'I know' he said, coughing hard, clutching his side 'you've hit your head bad, come on Wes, we need to get out of here' breathing was getting harder and harder every second they stayed there. He took her by the elbows and helped her onto her feet. She stood up unsteadily and leaned onto Paul for support. He slipped her arm around her shoulder and pulled her up, she was panting hard, still bleeding.

'Come on Weslie!' he grunted, trying to pull her along faster. She walked feebly hobbling with the pain in her leg every time she put weight on it. He half carried, half helped her slowly down the corridor.

'My head is splitting' she complained, pushing herself forward with tired feet, clutching her side. All they could hear now was the alarms; the footsteps of students thundering outside had died down. Paul thought it had been maybe five minutes since the explosion, but he had no idea how long they had been down on the ground.

Paul held onto her tightly as the doors came into view and they made a break for them, hobbling towards fresh air. He reached out and threw the door open as they burst out into the open. What looked like the whole school was gathered on the field. Matt Wilding and Eddie Lawson where rushing towards them.

They almost fell down the steps, missing the top step in haste to get outside 'It's alright Paul I've got her' Matt said, taking hold of Weslie and helping her walk as police cars, ambulances and fire engines were coming down towards the car park. Paul nodded, letting her go, still coughing as Eddie helped him away from the burning building and towards one of the ambulances.

'Where were you?' Eddie asked as the four them hobbled to the closest ambulance, which already had its back doors open, the paramedics rushing towards them.

'Not far from the canteen' Weslie said, grimacing in pain as the paramedic pressed a hand towel against her head and took her from Matt 'it just exploded Mr Lawson' she said as she was ushered inside the ambulance and pushed down to sit on the bed, Paul being pushed down next to her a minute later, having his hand examined.

'Was anyone else around?' Eddie asked, leaning in by the back doors of the ambulance.

Paul shook his head 'No sir, we didn't see anyone, it was deserted'

He nodded solemnly 'Alright' he said, then looked up to address the paramedics working on them 'are these two gonna be alright?' he asked.

The woman mopping up Weslie's head wound nodded 'they'll be fine, we've got a nice cut here and probably some broken fingers there' she said, nodding at Paul, who's fingers had been carefully wrapped up 'probably some smoke inhalation too' she said as her colleague got out and went round to the front, getting in the driving seat.

'We're going to take them to the hospital to get looked at' she said.

Eddie nodded and stepped back as she went to close the doors 'Mr Lawson!' Weslie called 'is Bolton alright?' she asked.

He shook his head 'I don't know Weslie, he's probably out there' he said, pointing with this thumb to the mass of students on the field behind him 'don't worry, he'll be fine, go get yourselves patched up' he said, snapping the doors shut as the ambulance roared into life and drove away.


	21. Chapter 21

_There was no way I could miss this out, so again I had to steal dialogue, which I hate doing. I can't even express to you how much I hate it, it's like cheating, and I hate that, but I want to include some of the WR storylines, and this one was a must. It's a long one, but it was always going to be, enjoy =]_

**Education – Part 2**

The explosion had destroyed the Waterloo Road canteen, and had put a lot of lives in danger, but by some small miracle, there had been no fatalities, though there had been several injuries. Weslie Connor suffered a deep cut to the head, which resulted in seven stitches, and a badly bruised hip bone. Paul Langley broke two fingers, sprained his wrist and suffered multiple cuts and bruises to his face and neck. Davina Shackleton inhaled copious amounts of smoke and spent three days having a machine breath for her. Rachel Mason took a nasty blow to the head and suffered burns on her chest. A handful of other students, including Bolton Smilie were treated for smoke inhalation and minor cuts and bruises, and no one knew what had happened to Stuart Hordley.

It was only a stroke of luck that it had happened on the last day of term and caused no disruption to anyone's education, and the builders had the entire summer break to repair the damage made to the school.

Bolton had been fine. Paul and Weslie had been taken to hospital straight from school, where they had been seen by doctors and were both bandaged up. Paul's fingers had been x-rayed and subsequently strapped up to support them whilst they healed. Weslie on the other hand, had had to have her head stitched, which was not something she enjoyed. She sat and complained the whole time, whilst Paul stood at the foot of her bed, sniggering at her.

Davina Shackleton was brought in not long after. They saw her being wheeled past, completely unconscious, with an oxygen mask strapped to her face, paramedics and nurses working on her frantically, rushing past them. Pauls laughter died away instantly, neither of them smiling anymore. Weslie's parents arrived just a second after Davina was rushed past them, her mother in tears. Apparently all they had been told was that she had been involved in a fire at the school and had been taken to hospital

When the first day of the new term rolled around, the canteen had been fully restored and Waterloo Road was ready for its students to come back. Weslie, who had recently turned 16, was sitting in the back of her fathers' car, her head back, watching the houses passing by as the car slowed to a stop. She didn't move, but stayed slouched in her seat.

Her father turned to look at her 'Are you sure you want to go back princess?' he asked. She'd been shook up worse than he'd ever seen after the explosion, she knew she and Paul had been literally seconds from death, and it had played on her mind all summer, he wasn't sure going back there would do here any good.

She looked at him after a long minute nodding 'Yeah' she said, sitting up and picking up her brand new and expensive bag, which he had bought her in Greece 'Yeah I'm fine, I'm going in' she said getting out, she stopped in front of his window.

'Call me if you want to come home, okay?' he said, handing her a twenty. She nodded and walked away. She walked in with her head down, the chattering students all milling around her, meeting up with friends, laughing and sharing their stories from the summer. She saw a few familiar faces, Chlo and Donte, Janeece and Maxine, but didn't stop to say hello to any of them.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Paul running up behind her, until he grabbed her around the middle. She screamed and squirmed, spinning around to find him behind her, laughing at her reaction, her face split into a wide grin and she threw her arms around his neck, giving him a bear hug.

He hugged her back, picking her up for a second 'Missed me then?' he said once he put her down, she smiled nodded, incredibly thankful to see him. She'd barely seen him all summer; she'd spent a few days at home during the first week before they flew out to Greece for a month. They were home for the last week of the holidays, but she had been too busy to see her friends. She had been busy buying her new uniform, getting back into singing again and helping her older brother Thomas move his stuff into his new university flat. She had spoken to them both on the phone and on the internet, but hadn't seen either for weeks, and had really missed them both, especially Paul.

She smiled, the two of them turning to walk in together 'Why wouldn't I' she said, linking her arm with his.

'Fair point' he agreed 'But look at you' he said, looking her up and down, impressed 'nice tan Weasel' he nodded.

'I know' she agreed, peering down at her own legs 'I look fabulous' she smiled, shaking her hips from side to side to make her skirt sway.

'That you do' he agreed.

……

The morning went smoothly; they had an assembly, during which they welcomed back Rachel Mason, and she welcomed back her students, along with the usual new faces. At the end of it they were ushered off to their forms, where they would be given their new timetables.

'Ere y'ar' Bolton said, nodding towards a group of people making their way inside with Miss Mason. There was a short redheaded woman, and what looked to be her 5 children. Four of them boys, three of them teenagers, but one only early in his teens, and a baby. The only girl was also a teen and looked to be the middle child 'who d'you reckon they are?' he asked.

Weslie shrugged her shoulders, watching them as almost everyone else around was. One of the boys, one of the older ones but the shorter of the two glared at Weslie and the boys until they were out of site 'new students maybe' she suggested.

……

They didn't encounter any of them again until morning break. They were hanging around near the lockers, the boys fooling about as usual. Paul had hold of Weslie's ankle and was pulling it around, laughing as he watched her struggle to stay on her feet 'Let go of my damn foot!' she said for the fourteenth time. Paul laughed again and shook his head, Bolton kept jabbing his finger into her side, trying to knock her over.

When Paul finally let her go, she went for him and the two of them wrestled, Paul grabbing her wrists an wrapping her arms around her, she stamped on his foot hard and wriggled free, Bolton laughed and shoved Paul. Paul stumbled backwards and into the shorter of the new boys, who they had found out, was called Earl Kelly.

'Sorry mate' Paul said to him, backing away.

'What the hell you playing at?' he snapped aggressively, rounding on Paul and squaring up to him, Paul stepped backwards out of his way.

'I said sorry, it was an accident' he explained, still backing away. Weslie and Bolton shared an anxious glance and she shrugged slightly, as if to say she had no idea what he was on about. Bolton widened his eyes to show he was just as surprised as she once.

'No, once is an accident!' he spat, still stalking closer and closer to Paul, who kept backing away from him warily 'you done it deliberately this time' Bolton stepped closer, coming up behind Earl.

'Alright just calm down' Weslie said, trying to defuse the situation.

'What do you mean 'this time'?' Paul asked, perplexed.

'I don't even know who you are man' Bolton said, stood beside him. Weslie stepped up next to him, but Bolton held his arm out and pushed her gently backwards.

'Well carry on like that and you soon will!' the shorter boy snapped.

Bolton turned aggressive 'Well maybe you should get to know who I am before you go shouting your mouth off new boy' Bolton said, looking down at him.

'Yeah' Paul agreed, backing off again. Earl looked at him with an icy spiteful glare.

'Where do you think you're going?' he asked, grabbing the front of Pauls jacket and pushing him backwards, slamming him against the lockers. Paul cried out in pain, Weslie and Bolton both lunged forward to help their friend, but Earl wasn't affected by their move and held Paul firmly 'do you think this is finished?' the hate in his eyes was so plain and obvious that it sent a chill down Weslie's spine.

'Get off him man!' Bolton exclaimed.

'Let him go!' Weslie demanded, Bolton still holding her back, away from the danger.

'Or what?' Earl said, still staring at the pined and squirming Paul.

'Or you'll have me to deal with, now move!' Tom Clarkson's voice said as he came down the stairs.

'Don't think this is finished' Earl whispered as Paul slipped out of his grip and the three of the fled down the corridor.

'Are you okay?' Weslie asked him, rushing in front of him and turning round to face him, walking backwards.

'I'm fine!' he snapped, pushing her away irritably 'let's just forget about it' he said, hiding his face from them, embarrassed.

……

Paul wasn't himself for the rest of the day, he was quiet, reserved and wanted more than anything to forget what had happened and stay away from Earl Kelly. Weslie could understand why he wanted to do so, there was something about that boy that just did not sit right with her, something that put her on her guard around him, and it was something she really didn't like.

'What does it matter?' Paul said, when Bolton pressed the matter during their lunch hour.

'You're the one making a big deal out of it' Bolton said.

'I just wanna keep out of that new kids way alright?' Paul said, agitated 'I think he's a bit of a-'

'A bit of what?' Earl interrupted, appearing behind them with his little brother. The three of them looked back but kept on walking, Earl and his brother following them.

'Nowt' Paul grumbled, avoiding Earls eye.

'Look' Bolton said, as calmly as possibly, stopping and turning to Earl 'I don't know what your problem is man'

'I don't have a problem' he said quickly, in a calm voice Weslie didn't trust 'I just wanna show you summat' he said in the same calm voice.

'Show us then' Weslie said bravely, determined not to look weak in front of him.

'Not here' he said, shaking his head 'come on, I think you'll like it' Bolton and Weslie both started walking, but Paul hesitated. He reached out and grabbed Weslie's elbow just before it went out of reach, tugging her back.

'No it's alright' Paul said 'we've got stuff to do'

Earl stopped and look at the two boys curiously, ignoring the fact Weslie was there, slightly amused 'Do a lot of _stuff _together do you boys' he mocked, laughing. No one spoke; Paul looked down, wanting to be anywhere but there. Wes knew he had a deep rooted dislike for confrontation, due to his past and abusive uncle, but she knew they'd be safe with Bolton 'Well okay' Earl said, putting his friendly tone on again 'if you want to be left alone with your boyfriend that's up to you' he started to walk away again.

'Well alright, it better be worth it' Bolton said, following him again, Paul stood still again.

'Bolton, no!' he hissed.

Weslie reached out behind her and grabbed his hand, dragging him with her and spreading her fingers out wide, letting him slip his into the spaces between 'Come on Paul' she said 'he was calling you gay!' he sighed and followed, admitting defeat. They followed Earl back inside and into the boys changing rooms, which where deserted. Paul lingered at the door, but followed Weslie inside when she dropped his hand.

'So what's the big deal then?' Bolton asked, the three of them following Earl round the other side of the changing stands. He turned to face them, pulling a gun out of his waist band. Weslie stopped so abruptly that Paul walked into her.

'Oooh' Bolton cooed, impressed.

'What the hell have you got that for?' Paul demanded.

'Let me see this' Bolton said stepping closer to him.

'You look with your eyes, not your hands' Earl snapped.

Bolton looked at it for a moment. Paul pushed Weslie behind him and felt her grab on to the back of his jacket, gripping hard 'it's not even real is it?' Bolton said.

Earl put on a fake laugh 'isn't it?'

Bolton's smile faded 'Why have you even brought it to school?' Weslie asked.

'Why do you think?' he sneered.

'What?' Paul asked 'protection?'

But Bolton wasn't fooled 'Or maybe you just want us to think you're a bit gangster, instead of the tosser that you are' he said, in a mocking voice, riling Earl.

'Look' Paul said, reaching behind him for Weslie's hand, which he found and held onto tightly 'this is stupid, I'm off' he said, turning to walk away, taking Weslie with him. She usually didn't take so well to being dragged around, but this time she didn't object. His voice was shaking, she knew he was scared. He made for the door, but Earl was faster, taking the shorter way around, he held the gun up against the wall beside the door, blocking their exit. Weslie grabbed for Paul's jacket with her other hand.

'You're going nowhere' Earl said menacingly.

'I won't say anything, to anyone, I, I just' Paul stammered.

'What?' Earl said, unfazed by Pauls blatant fear and discomfort. Weslie stepped aside, away from Earl and the gun and stood beside Bolton, taking hold of the arm of his jacket 'what's wrong?' Earl asked, faking concern.

'I just don't want to be here alright?' Paul said, clearly in discomfort. Weslie didn't like the look on his face, she could see how terrified he was, how much this situation was bothering him. Paul started to back up, Earl following him.

'What's up? Are you scared?' he asked, in the same fake concerned voice that didn't fool any of them, still following Paul, himself followed by Weslie, Bolton and his brother.

'Stop it, just leave him alone yeah?' Weslie said as calmly as she could, still clutching Bolton's arm, desperate to be out of there.

'You are aren't you? Earl continued, ignoring her and waving the gun around 'scared it might just go off in my hand'

Paul was breathing heavily and turned away 'No' he said defiantly.

'BANG!' Earl shouted, laughing as Paul jumped and exclaimed that it wasn't funny and asking to be let out again.

'Just let him go!' Bolton said, with more confidence than Weslie when she last spoke. Earl turned, pointing the gun at the other two, a malicious look on his face.

'What are you going to do about it if I don't?' he asked calmly. No one spoke. 'That's what I thought' he said, smiling.

'Move, now' he said, grabbing hold of Weslie by the shoulder and shoving her to stand next to Paul, who caught as she stumbled 'you too! Get over there' he said threateningly to Bolton, who stood on her other side. Paul took her hand again, lacing his fingers in with hers.

'You thought you were really funny this morning, bumping into me' Earl said, pacing in front of them.

'I told you' Paul said, still breathing hard 'It was an accident'

'Not laughing now though' he said with a grim satisfaction.

'Cause there's nothing to laugh at anymore' Bolton added.

'This is stupid' Weslie said, Paul squeezing her hand hard when she spoke, trying to tell her not to speak, not to get herself in any more danger 'this won't end well, just let us go' he stared her in the face, his eyes cold and empty. He shook his head.

'Look, I'm really sorry' Paul said.

'And' Earl added.

'And it won't happen again, I promise' he assured him 'just let me go, please' he almost begged.

He shook his head 'not yet, I mean, you say you're sorry, but I'm just not feeling it'

'He is' Weslie said, her hands shaking 'he didn't mean it'

He ignored her 'perhaps you should show me how sorry you are'

'What are you on about?' Bolton asked.

'On your knees' Earl said coldly, looking directly at Paul.

;Just leave him alone man!' Bolton exclaimed as Paul started to get down, letting go of Weslie's hand 'Paul don't do it!' she hissed.

'Don't listen to them, they've got you in enough trouble already' Earl said 'just get down, say you're sorry, and we'll call it quits' he said, speaking calm and slowly, the gun pointed directly at Pauls face the whole time. Paul stared at it, terrified. Weslie reached down, holding onto his shoulder.

'I'm really sorry' Paul said, his voice shaking, but staring at the gun in his face.

'That wasn't hard was it' he said. He looked down at Paul for a second longer, then up at Bolton 'your turn'

Bolton shook his head 'No way man' he said stubbornly. Earl stepped closer to him, the gun pointed directly at Bolton's face.

'On your knees' he said 'Now!' he looked at Weslie, pointing the gun at her 'you too'

He walked around the back of them once they were on their knees 'Now, say sorry' he said, picking up Weslie's long ponytail and spinning it once around his finger, flicking it away.

'I'm sorry' she whispered, her voice also shaking, silent tears on her cheeks. He looked at Bolton, whose jaw was clenched hard, but he still managed to mutter an apology. Earl started pacing again, walking in and out of the three of them, all on their knees and all silent.

'Now, what to do with you' he said, considering it. Weslie stole a glance at her friends, Paul terrified and Bolton furious. Earl stopped walking and faced them 'I know' he said, smirking 'My trainers are a bit dirty'

'You said, if I said sorry' Paul started, but was interrupted by Earl.

'Put a shine on them whilst you're down there will you?' he said, still perfectly calm, in control. Paul looked up at him, then at Bolton, who didn't move, and finally at Weslie, who pleaded with him silently to make it all go away, this wasn't the first day back reunion she'd had in mind. Paul went down onto all fours, pulling the sleeve of his jacket over his hand and starting to scrub Earl's shoe with it.

'You're gonna be sorry you did this' Bolton muttered, looking up at him, his jaw set hard and his face angrier than Wes had ever seen him.

'Am I?' Earl asked, pulling his foot from under Paul and walking to stand directly in front of Bolton 'Am I really? Y'know, I reckon you could put a better shine on them. With your tongue' he spat.

Bolton shook his head 'No way mate, it's not gonna happen' neither moved, both of them staring the other down hard. Paul saw his moment of opportunity and in one swift moment had picked his bag up, grabbed Weslie by the hand, pulled her to her feet and fled from the changing rooms, pulling Weslie along with him.

Bolton caught up with them a second later as Paul was half dragging Weslie down the corridor, clutching her hand so hard his knuckles had turned white and her fingers had gone numb, he was close to tears and Weslie was busy wiping her own from her face.

'I'm sorry I left you' he said as Bolton caught up with them 'I just couldn't-'

'Shut up man and just keep walking' Bolton snapped, hurrying them outside.

……

Weslie sat on her bed with the TV on, she wasn't watching it, she didn't even know which channel it was on. She'd had the worst day of her life. Things hadn't gotten any better after they'd left the changing rooms. Paul had slipped a note under Rachel Masons door telling her there was a gun in the school and the entire building had been evacuated. But Earl was smarter than that and planted the gun on his brother, who had been taken away in a police car. And he knew it had been them who'd told Mason.

She sat on the bed, leaning her side against the propped up pillows, her face buried in her hands. She was breathing hard, her hands still shaking, remembering the way he had held the gun in their faces, the calm look on his own, she had no doubt he'd use it.

Downstairs she heard the doorbell ring and her mother answer. She heard muffled conversation and the door shutting, whoever it was had been let in. She ignored it and pulled her knees tighter into her chest. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and a minute later a knock on her door, which she ignored.

Another knock and it creaked open 'Weslie?' it was Paul. She looked up at him and beckoned him in, saying nothing. He shut the door behind him quietly.

'I can't stop thinking about it Paul' she said, turning back to hide her face in her hands, shaking again.

'I know, I can't either' he said, sitting down on the edge of her bed with his back to hers. The room was dimly lit, only a small desk lamp and the TV giving off any light.

She said nothing, and he had no choice but to sit and watch her. He saw her shoulders start to heave and heard her sobbing. He turned around to face her properly and moved across her bed to where she was sat, coming up behind her, he pulled her to sit between his legs, her back in his chest and wrapped his arms around her as she cried.


	22. Chapter 22

_So sorry this is reaching you so late. I've spent the day roughly planning out this part of the story, so I've been really busy. I've been working on this chapter most of the evening, but we've had a power cut the past hour, so that was time just wasted. Anyway, it's here now, thanks for your reviews =] _

Weslie was shook up badly from their encounter with Earl Kelly and the chain of events it had set off. She had never been as scared as she was when he was holding them at gun point, and only felt worse about it knowing her friends were feeling the same. Bolton may have masked it with genuine rage, but she knew he'd been scared too, which was something he didn't deny either.

She hadn't told her parents what had happened that day, she hadn't told anyone in fact. She had wanted to tell her mother, but she knew she couldn't. She was terrified of what Earl would do if she told anybody, and Bolton had sworn her to secrecy. The idea of telling her parents was one she was fond of. A mother is god in the eyes of a child, and she liked the comfort of knowing they'd never let anything hurt her.

They'd barely spoken about it since it had happened. When Paul had come to check on her that night, she broke down completely and spent almost an hour being held by him as she cried. It had been hard on Paul too, who had leaked more than few tears as he held her, not liking how fragile and frail she felt in his arms. They had sat for a long time silence after she had stopped her sobbing. She had turned around and was sat side on, leaning against Paul, still between his legs with one of his legs across her lap and the other behind her, her head on his chest. He just held her, staring out of the window, watching the night and absent mindedly stroking her face with his thumb. She felt closer then to him than she ever had.

She had never before then realised how much she appreciated Paul, he was there for her through everything. And though they had only been friends for a year, they were incredibly close, and she would easily trust him with her life. She felt she probably owed him that much, after he had take him with her when he ran from Earl.

Determined not to let on to her parents that anything was wrong, she put on a brave face and went straight back into school. For the first few days she was nervous, edgy, but Earl did nothing and after a week she had settled back in and was feeling good about Waterloo Road again.

……

Paul and Bolton dragged her down the corridor, complaining all the way. They had seen a flyer on the notice board for a new boxing club, which had been started by the new P.E teacher, Mr Cleaver, and both boys where keen to check it out, which of course meant Weslie had to come along, whether she liked it or not.

'Why can't I just go wait with Max and Janeece?' She asked, being literally pulled by Paul, who had her by the wrist of her jacket.

'Because I said so' Paul said, Bolton walking behind her, holding bother her shoulders and steering her after Paul, laughing 'And you never know' Bolton added 'girls might be able to join too'

She rolled her eyes 'Irrelevant. I don't want to box'

Paul turned around, giving her a disbelieving look 'Why not?' he asked, perplexed. The idea of her in a vest and shorts fighting with another girl was one he liked, a lot.

She looked at him as it were obvious and shook her head, pointing to her face with her free hand 'isn't it obviously Langley? This face is too pretty to be bust up' she said proudly, giving him a cheeky wink.

Bolton sniggered and said 'I'm sure Paul would patch you up if you know what I mean' giving her shoulders a shake.

'You're an animal Smilie' she said drying as they pushed the doors to the gym open and Bolton shoved her inside. There were already a few boys inside, milling around and helping Mr Cleaver unpack and set up the equipment.

'Alright lads' Mr Cleaver said when they walked in. The boys let Weslie go and she went to sit cross legged on one of the long wooden benches, she pulled a magazine out of her bag and flicked to the article she had been reading.

Bolton started punching one of the punch bags softly.

'Ahh, boxing in school, yeah man' he said, impressed.

'Yeah it's a proper boxing club so we're going to be looking for members' Mr Cleaver said, still unpacking equipment 'are you interested?' Bolton nodded, looking around. Paul was busy inspecting a head guard.

Cleaver looked over at where Weslie was sat reading the fashion pages 'what about you?' he called, she looked up at him 'interested? Girls can box too you know' she smiled, laughing at the idea of herself boxing and shook her head.

'I'm a lover not a fighter sir' she nodded 'I'm just here because those two dragged me' she said, nodding towards her friends.

He laughed and nodded 'alright, well just stay out of trouble' he said, eyeing her warily 'I've been warned about you three' he said. The three of them exchanged looks and burst into laughter.

'Oh I'll bet you have' she said quietly, shaking her head and looking back down at her magazine. Weslie sat quietly whilst the boys walked around and checked out all the boxing gear Cleaver had bought in, talking to Cleaver and another new boy when he came in, he was pale skinned and curly haired and assumed boxing had been banned. He spoke smartly, and was clearly well educated. Weslie got the impression that he didn't completely fit though, though he wanted to.

The new boy wasn't there long before the bell went and it was time for them to go to registration. She frowned curiously when she got up to wait for the boys and found the new kid was with them. She said nothing to him, but leaned in and whispered to Bolton 'who's he?' the new boy was lagging behind them.

'Phillip' he said miserably 'new boy, Cleaver's making us show him around' Bolton turned around to see where he was 'Come on' he snapped 'we're supposed to be showing you your form room! This guy's on something I'm telling you' he grumbled. He had got on Bolton's bad side already, he'd implied boxing was for stupid people, and had asked if Bolton could afford to lose any more brain cells.

Paul turned round 'Hurry up! You div!' he said, in a mock stupid voice, making Weslie laugh loudly, which made Paul smile.

……

It wasn't until after lunch that Paul noticed Weslie's hand was shaking. They had eaten quickly in the canteen and gone to the gym to work out with Cleavers boxing club, the boys dragging Weslie along with them once again. Phillip wasn't with them anymore; the boys had got sick of him already and had tied him up with Cleavers boxing gear in the boys' toilets and left him there. Matt Wilding had later rescued him and the three of them had been punished, though Weslie hadn't actually gone into the toilets with them.

She sat on the benches again, reading her magazine and drinking a bottle of volvic. She knew things weren't going to end well when Earl and Phillip came in. Her stomach dropped. Words were exchanged and Earl challenged Bolton to a boxing match, she wished he would but knew too well Bolton couldn't turn him down; he would never look weak in front of people.

Paul had been sat beside her in their geography class when he looked down and saw her hand on the desk beside him, shaking. He frowned and looked up at her gazing out of the window and placed his own hand on top of hers. She turned to look at him and pulled her hand away, hiding it on her lap.

'What's wrong?' he asked her, whispering. She shook her head, looking away. He grabbed her elbow and shook it 'Weslie' he said firmly but still quietly 'talk to me'

She sighed deeply 'I don't feel safe here' she whispered.

'Why?' he asked, though he already knew the answer, it was the same reason he'd been feeling uneasy.

'I don't trust that Earl kid' she said, looking at his desperately 'Nothing good can come from him being here' she sighed again and ran a hand through her hair 'I'm scared Paul, I'm really scared of him'

He nodded 'He scares me too' he said quietly 'he's a psycho'

'We need to tell someone' she pleaded with him, though she also knew there was no way they could. She didn't want to be in that situation, she didn't want it to be happening to her, she wanted someone to come along and make it all go away, to take the responsibility away from her and her friends.

He shook his head and said firmly 'No, we can't, he'll kill us'

She shook her head in return 'he doesn't have to know it was us who said anything' she hissed.

'Bolton already said, we're the only one's he showed it too, and his let his own brother get locked up, he'd do a lot worse to us' he said, looking scared again 'he's already pissed off at us over the note'

She looked up and closed her eyes, fighting back tears 'I don't want to be in this situation' she whispered 'you shouldn't have put that note under Mason's door Paul' she said, looking back down at him 'it's made it worse, he knows one of us told her, and he isn't going to forget it'

'I know! I'm sorry!' his voice rising, agitated, running his hands through his hair, finding it difficult to keep his voice down 'I, I was just' he stopped, exhaling, frustrated. He edged closer to her, leaning in and looking her dead in the eye 'I was scared what he'd do to us' he took her hand again 'to you. I care about you' he said.

She smiled weakly, squeezing his fingers 'I know you do'

He looked away 'I know I shouldn't have done it, but I panicked, when he was shouting at that girl, he looked so vicious' Paul had gone to make the note after seeing Earl threatening a girl who had been passing comments about his younger sister 'and I knew he had it on him'

'He wouldn't have done anything, not in school' she said certainly.

He shook his head, staring ahead of him and biting his fingernails as he did when he was nervous 'that doesn't matter, we're not in school all the time'

'We just need to stay out of his way' she whispered, Paul looking at her again 'try not to piss him off'

He shook his head 'it's okay, I won't let him hurt you Weslie, ever' he said fiercely. It was a tone of voice she had never heard him use before, and in part it scared her.

'It's not just me you have to worry about' she whispered.


	23. Chapter 23

Weslie roared with laughter. She laughed harder than she had ever laughed in her life, clutching her aching sides and wheezing, too busy laughing to breathe. Tears of laughter ran down her cheeks and her jaw was hurting. She was trying to walk down the corridor, but was far too busy to make any real progress as she was laughing that hard, trying to talk, but falling and falling into further fits of laughter as she tried to recollect what she had just seen.

The boys either side of her were far less amused. They'd found it funny at the time and had laughed it off, but seeing how much everyone else was amused by it, they weren't impressed. They'd just been in a lesson with the Maorian supply teacher, who had been teaching them about this culture, and in particular, something called the 'hongi' or 'the breath of life' which was used to signify when a person was no longer a visitor, but a true tangata whenua.

He had asked Paul and Bolton to help him demonstrate, both boys had been eager to do so, until they found out the ritual involved them touching lips for a few seconds. Or to put it more simply, as Michaela White had, the boys had to kiss.

The supply had been keen for the boys to do it, and the class who had been sat circled around them watching were also keen to see the best friends kiss, just for the sheer embarrassment it would cause them both. They had both been hesitant and the class had jeered them on, making remarks about tonguing each other and teasing the boys.

Weslie had laughed along with the rest of her classmates as her best friends slowly leaned in towards each other, before bottling it, as she new they would, and turning away. They had joked about it afterwards, but for a moment, Weslie was distracted by the sight of Paul leaning in to his friend, though the intent had been vastly different, she remembered when he had started to lean in towards her towards the end of the last term. It wasn't something she had really thought about, but knew she should have.

She wasn't sure how she felt about Paul, but she thought she knew how he felt about her. She liked him sure, they were best friends, and she was closer to him than she was to anyone else, even her parents. They had bonded strongly and quickly when they became friends, and she couldn't ever remember a time over their friendship when she needed him that he hadn't been there. Even when she hadn't asked for him or called him, he was always there anyway.

He was attractive, she knew that. She knew when she thought about it that she had always found Paul very attractive, he was beautiful and she enjoyed being with him more than anyone, she was getting to a point in their friendship where she wanted to spend as much time with his as possible, and it always made her smile when he would take hold of her hand without warning, or but his arm around her.

She was pretty sure Paul had feelings for her, sometimes she could see it in the way he looked her, and she knew he cared deeply for her, he had even told her so himself, and the way he had pulled her away from Earl with him only made her even more sure he felt for her as more than a friend.

'It wasn't that funny man' Bolton snapped, giving her a sharp nudge with his shoulder once they were in line in the canteen and Weslie was still giggling quietly.

She shook her head 'Oh you wouldn't think so if you'd seen your face' she giggled, trying to stifle her laughter and failing.

'Wouldn't think so if you'd seen your face' Bolton repeated in a terrible impression of her voice.

'Oh come one!' she said, giving him a look that suggested he was taking it too serious 'I'm only playing with you' she said, holding her plate out to Candeece, who spooned rice out onto it, giving her a little extra, as she was Bolton's friend.

'Having a good day Candeece?' she asked loudly, making sure Bolton could hear her.

Candeece looked up, smiling 'Oh yeah, it's been nice love' she smiled. She was a very kind woman who had the time for anyone who needed her. She loved her son more than anything, but was firm on him when he needed it.

'Bolton's day's been interested' Paul chipped in, after realising what Weslie was up to 'hasn't it Bolton?' he asked in a casual, innocent voice 'why don't you tell her about it?' he suggested.

'Shut up, both of you!' he hissed, shoving his tray into Weslie's back to push her away from his mother as she started laughing again.

She was still laughing thirty minutes later when he shoved her down in a seat in Eddie Lawsons room and sat down himself, scowling at both her and Paul. They had gone back on their way out when Bolton was distracted and told Candeece, who had laughed at him. He was still sulking.

'I'm gonna kill you both' he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest moodily.

'No you won't' Paul laughed 'then you wouldn't get anymore kisses' Paul said, puckering up and blowing him a kiss. Weslie laughed loudly, Bolton punching Paul hard in the arm, though he was fighting laughter was well.

'That was well gay man!' he exclaimed, smiling now, sniggering.

'You two were stupid enough to volunteer for it' she shrugged, giving them a wink and nudging Paul with her elbow, suggesting they were gay for each other.

'Shut up Connor' Paul said, shoving her away 'you loved it'

'Oh absolutely' she said in a deadly serious voice the boys almost believed 'you two are a hot couple'

Bolton shook his head 'You're a dickhead, you know that right?' he said, still smirking. She nodded and wrinkled up her nose, looking nothing short of innocent.

'Oh yeah, I tried to call you last night' Paul said, wearing a perplexed look on his face 'couldn't get through, what was up?'

'Oh shit yeah' she mumbled, picking her bag up and dropping it down on the desk, she stuck her arm inside and started to rummage around 'I've got a new phone, I started using it yesterday, I forgot to give you the number' she said, pulling out a brand new iPhone.

'Ooooh nice!' Paul said, both boys leaning over to get a better look at it.

She nodded, smiling, obviously happy with her new gadget 'I got it for my sixteenth' she said proudly.

'Very nice' Bolton said, taking it from her and examining it.

'Weslie Connor!' Mr Lawsons voice boomed across the classroom, the room looked up at him stood in the door way 'what is that?' he demanded pointing at her. Bolton stuffed the phone away quickly, hoping he hadn't seen it.

'What's what sir?' she asked innocently.

'What's that on your arm?' he asked, crossing the room to her. He didn't sound angry, just unimpressed.

She closed her eyes and groaned, she'd been wearing her jumper for the past three weeks since term had started, but had let her concentration slip and her sleeve also slip. She stood up and sighed, holding her arm out and pulling her sleeve up to her elbow, revealing the tattoo. Paul and Bolton gasped and the people closest crowded round to get a better look. Mr Lawson took hold of her arm and twisted it slightly either way, examining it.

'It's Arabic isn't it?' he said after a moment, admiring the strange symbols etched into her skin.

She nodded 'Yes sir' she said quietly.

'What does it say?' he asked, looking up at her, she could feel Paul and Bolton both looking at her too, wanting to know the same.

'It says 'Yes, the danger must be growing, for the rowers keep on rowing' ' she said.

To her surprise, he smiled 'From the Rowing Song, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' he said, nodding and letting go of her arm 'I didn't know you were a fan'

She smiled and shook her head 'I'm not sir, I just like the line, I'm not even sure why' she said, pulling her sleeve back down.

'Alright' he said nodding and turning away, walking down to the front of the room 'I'll have to tell Miss Mason about it Weslie, just keep it covered okay?' he said, sitting down.

She nodded and sat down too 'Okay sir, I will'

Paul and Bolton turned to her when the class had fallen quiet again 'you never told us you had a tattoo' Paul said, looking hurt.

She smiled at him 'I did, you just weren't listening' she said with a wink.


	24. Chapter 24

Weslie pushed the hall doors open and walked in slowly, listening to the echo of her footsteps as she crossed the room. It was late in the afternoon and the school was almost empty, she had stayed behind to finish an essay in the library and had decided to come into the hall on her way out. Paul had offered to stay with her, but she had politely declined, knowing she wouldn't get much work done with him distracting her. She felt guilty at the dejected look on his face as he walked away, and made a mental note to make it up to him.

It felt entirely normal to her as she walked over to where the piano was sat by the window, and she couldn't keep the smile from her face as she dropped her bag down on the floor and sat on the stool.

The light was pouring in from the high windows beside her, highlighting the thin layer of dust on the keys; this particular piano hadn't been used since the first assembly of the year, when they had sang to Rachel Mason. She pressed a finger down, listening as it echoed around the room to her. She smiled, there was nothing more she loved than peace when she played or sang.

'Should've you have gone home over an hour ago?' Matt Wilding said from the door way. She hadn't noticed him, but didn't mind that he was there.

She smiled and nodded 'I should' she said, pressing down on the keys softly, a gentle tune trickling out 'but I had an essay to finish'

He smiled and started to cross the hall to her 'that doesn't look like an essay to me' he noted, hoisting himself up to sit on the edge of the stage behind her.

She laughed and shook her head 'no, it doesn't to me either' she smiled, still playing quietly, she couldn't recall the name of the piece was playing, it was something she had been playing since she was small, as long as she could remember, and she knew it so well she knew she couldn't possibly get it wrong 'I finished it, decided to come in here on my way out' she explained.

He nodded and neither spoke for a moment, both listening to her play, Matt watching her fingers move confidently and gracefully across the keys. He'd seen her play a lot over the past few weeks, she was gifted, she could probably go all the way as a pianist, but they both knew her heart lay with singing.

'How long have you been playing?' he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders 'Ten years' she said 'maybe eleven'

'And singing?'

She smiled 'since always'

They fell silent for a moment whilst she finished what she was playing and started on something else, something he didn't know, but liked. It was a slow and somewhat sad piece, almost haunting and he felt very touched by it. She started to sing along to the music, the lyrics almost as haunting as the music _'Soon, the rain, will wash away the sun, as I melt with you, I Am Ghost' _it struck him how very profound the words were.

'Why did you start to sing again?' he asked after a while, unable to hold back the question he had been desperate to ask her since the end of the last term.

'I still love it, it just, it feels different now' she said, just playing again.

He frowned 'how do you mean?'

She continued to play and said, without looking at him 'At first, when I sang I did it because I loved it and it made me happy and for years it was all ever wanted to do. But at my old school, soon it stopped being something I did just because I enjoyed it, it started to become something I had to do, it was expected of me, and I got to a point where I realised I wasn't singing for the right reasons anymore, I was singing to make everyone else happy, and by doing that, I had compromised my own happiness, which was what I had always done it for from the beginning, so I just didn't see the point in singing anymore' Matt was taken aback at how mature that made her sound, almost like she had lived a lifetime already, and had seen it all.

'But it's different here? At Waterloo Road?' he asked.

Weslie nodded, smiling 'Yes. It's completely different here. There's no pressure, no one I have to impress or perform for, here I can just do it for myself' she said, with a happy, content sigh.

Matt smiled too and nodded 'Good, that's how we want you to feel' he assured her.

'You don't want me to perform for you?' she asked, and for the first time since he had sat down her eyes shifted from the keys, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, almost testing him.

He nodded 'Maybe' he said honestly 'but only ever if you want to, if you don't, then I don't want you to'

'I'll bear that in mind' she said, stopping playing and resting her hands on the keys.

……

She had left school not long after her talk with Matt. She was glad he had come in to talk to her; she was feeling a lot better about singing and performing since she had first sung at Waterloo Road. They had always claimed not to be like her old school, but she couldn't ever be sure, and part of her had expected them to start asking her to perform like her old school had. But it had been both a relief and a surprise when they didn't, and let her come round to the idea of performing in her own time.

Weslie pushed the front door open and stepped over the step, kicking the door shut behind her and dropping her bag onto the floor, she fished her phone out of her blazer pocket before taking both that and her coat off, hanging them up.

'Weslie?' she heard her mother call as she walked through into the front room. She found James sitting cross legged in the middle of the floor playing with Lego and the twins' cats Oscar and Louis asleep next to him on the rug.

'Hey big man' she said to her brother who looked up and waved, far too busy constructing what he claimed was a helicopter, but looked more like a mass of Lego to Weslie 'where's Stotch?' she asked him.

He shrugged his little shoulders 'Garden, I think' he mumbled.

'Weslie?' Her mother hollered, louder and more agitated than before.

'What?' Weslie yelled back, groaning internally and walking through the dining room and into the kitchen, where she found her mother on her knees scrubbing the front of the oven, which was already spotlessly clean. Her mother was a pretty middle aged brown haired woman by the name of Sarah who owned her own wedding planning business and an uncanny knack for keeping up with the latest fashions and still managing to pull it off at her age.

'Oh there you are' she said calmly, as though she hadn't just yelled her daughters name at the top of her lungs.

'Obviously' Weslie mumbled, picking up an apple and leaning against the door frame, watching her mother, who carried on scrubbing after giving her an irritable look.

'Anyway' she said, still frowning 'your dad and me thinking about going to Spain for a few days in a few weeks, nothing extravagant, probably fly out on a Thursday and come home on Monday or something, do you want to come?'

Weslie pulled a face, she had loved Greece, but wasn't a huge fan of being away from home for often 'Do I have to?' she asked.

Sarah shook her head 'of course not'

A light bulb went off in Weslie's brain and she smirked 'can I have a party whilst your away?' she asked bravely, grinning. Her mother watched her, scanning her face, considering it.

'How many people we talking?' she asked.

Wes shrugged 'I dunno, twenty maybe?' she didn't want to push it, she knew her parents would not be happy if she had the house full of drunken teenagers, and truthfully she didn't want to worry about the house being full of rowdy partygoers and being to scared of something being broken to enjoy it herself.

Sarah watched her again for a few seconds 'Alright, but I'm warning you Weslie Eloise, if anything gets broken, and I mean _anything _you're for it' she said seriously, keeping a firm gaze with her teen.

'Fine, fine, you have my word' she said, crossing her fingers over her heart lazily, her mother gave her a less than impressed look.

'Paul called for you before' she said, going back to her cleaning.

'Oh?' she asked through a mouthful of apple 'what did he want?'

Her mother looked up at her and shrugged 'how the hell should I know? He's your friend'

Weslie looked at her mother incredulously 'you were on the phone to him you tool, you should've asked him' she said.

'Well I didn't, and don't call me a tool' she said, pointing a finger at her threateningly.

'Yeah yeah' Weslie mumbled, dismissing her mothers threats 'where's my dog?' she asked.

'Outside your room last I saw him' she said, sticking her head inside the oven to clean it. Weslie said nothing as she walked away, back the way she came, messing up James's hair as she passed. She pulled her phone out and started to ring Paul when she got to her room, finding the dog sat outside her door looking sorry for himself.

It rang for a long time and she had that awful feeling in her stomach she got whenever it seemed like he wasn't going to pick up and was about to give up when to her relief, he finally answered 'Good evening Weasel' he said cheerily, making her smile.

'Evening Langley' she said, dropping down on her bed and propping herself up against the pillows, ready for another one of their long, long conversations, thankful she had a contract phone 'you rang?' she asked.

'I did' he said 'Sorry I took so long to answer, I was in the shower. I was just making sure you got home safe' he said sincerely.

Weslie laughed loudly and almost choked on the piece of apple she was chewing 'Oh you're worse than my mother!' she exclaimed 'I can make it home all by myself you know, I'm a big girl' she said.

'I know that' he said 'I see you nearly every day remember' it was true; they were spending almost every weekend together and were barely apart. Bolton was usually with them a lot, but since he had started his boxing training with Mr Cleaver, they didn't see as much as him.

'But you still see fit to check on me?' she asked, smirking. She wouldn't tell him, but she kind of liked it really, she liked that he was thinking about her when she wasn't there.

'There's nothing wrong with that' he protested, defending himself.

She smiled 'I didn't say there was' she remembered her earlier conversation with her mother 'Oooh Paul' she said excitedly 'My family are on about going to Spain for a few days in a couple of weeks, but I'm staying here'

'Sounds good, party?' he asked.

She smiled 'Of course, why wouldn't we. You can stay over if you like' she added, feeling brave.

'Stay over yours?' he asked, that had been completely unexpected 'where would I sleep?'

'We have two guest rooms' she said 'or you could stay in my room, with me, if you like' she added.

'Um, um yeah sure' he said, trying not to sound as excited as he felt 'yeah course I will'


	25. Chapter 25

_Sorry I've been absent a while, I've been really busy, I'll try to update more often. Response to someone's review, yes, you should always keep reviewing, I love nothing more than knowing my work is appreciated and that people really do enjoy it, writing it far easier when you have someone to write for._

Weslie was excited for her family to go away. A few days after her mother asked about it, they booked the flights and the hotels and had agreed to let Weslie stay at home alone, despite her only being 16. Amelia wasn't going, and had agreed to check on her whilst they were away, though both girls knew there was no need for her to do so.

It had taken some time, but eventually she had talked her father round to the idea of her having friends over for a BBQ, she had initially wanted to have a party, but Paul and Bolton had convinced her a BBQ was a better idea, and she liked the idea of it being a smaller affair than a party.

The only problem she could foresee was having a BBQ in the middle of November, inside her house she could keep her guests warm, but outside was a different matter, and after much complaining, her father had caved and bought three expensive patio heaters.

She had also asked Bolton to stay overnight with her and Paul, who would both be arriving early to help her get things ready, but he'd had to decline, as Mr Cleaver had put him on a strict training regime and he had to be early to go for a run, so he couldn't drink either, though his best friends both knew he really wanted to.

……

Weslie was texting and wasn't paying attention to where she was going, relying on Paul, who had his arm hung loosely around her waist, his hand on her hip, to make sure she didn't walk into anything.

'Who're you texting?' he asked, steering her out of the way of an excited group of year eight boys running down the corridor after each other, she felt the wind move as they raced past and looked up, scowling at then, surely it wasn't a requirement of theirs to be _that _annoying all the time.

'Oh, just a girl I used to go to school with' she shrugged, wearing a bored expression.

'She hot?' Bolton asked, looking over her shoulder in the hope she'd show him a picture of the girl.

'I guess' Weslie shrugged 'but she has a boyfriend' she said, looking up at Bolton and smiling. She knew Bolton was _very _popular amongst the female students at Waterloo Road, most of them there had thought him hot at least once and more than a few had a crush on him. He loved the attention, it wasn't hard to tell, and he revelled in it. Weslie could see it in his face when he walked past girls checking him out; see it in the way he swaggered around them.

But what she didn't know, and nor did Bolton, was the secret fear Paul was harbouring about his two best friends. He had always felt inferior to Bolton when it came to looks and girls, and he felt deeply for Weslie, but she was a frightfully beautiful girl, with clear white skin, perfectly plump lips and green eyes and surely out of his league. And he also knew how handsome Bolton was, with a strong jaw and dark brown eyes and a strong, muscular frame. It seemed only inevitable to him that at least one of them would develop feelings for the other, and he was dreading the day in which it would happen. He couldn't think of any reason why they wouldn't work together, they were both popular and good looking and the very idea of it terrified him so much when he thought about it, he couldn't bear to look at either of them.

He cared for her, he cared for her so deeply just being unable to kiss her was like agony for him, he wanted her so badly, but he knew she would never be is. He couldn't possibly ever see a future in which she was his, because he just couldn't see why she would ever be interested in him.

Bolton made a noise of disgust and looked away. Weslie looked at Paul and smiled, rolling her eyes. He smiled and nodded, silently agreeing that it was just typical Bolton.

Just as Bolton looked up, Maxine Barlow and Janeece Bryant passed them, the girls waved to Weslie, and Janeece, very surprisingly, checked Bolton out. He'd thought her hot for a long time, but she'd never shown any interest in him.

Weslie laughed loudly once the girls had passed 'Oooh Bolton!' she exclaimed excitedly, dropping her phone into her bag, abandoning the unfinished text 'she was checking you out!' she said, Paul nodding beside her, tightening his grip on her, she clearly wasn't bothered by Janeece's interest in Bolton.

Bolton scoffed 'Obviously man, I knew she was into me' he said, waving away their surprise with a confident smirk.

Paul laughed and clapped him on the shoulder 'course you did mate' he smirked. Weslie chuckled and looked at her watch.

'I've got to go' she said, dislodging herself from Paul, who looked dejected but let her go anyway 'football practice' she said, giving them both a quick hug 'I'll see you later' she said, leaving.

The team had been put back together at the start of term, under the supervision of Mr Cleaver, who admittedly, was not paying the girls' team as much attention as he should. She pushed the door open and hurried inside, muttering an apology to Miss Koreshi and getting changed quickly.

'I'm sorry girls' Miss Koreshi said in her thick Scottish accent 'we're going to have to use the gym today'

'Why can't we play outside miss?' Danielle asked, leaning against the side of the changing hooks, already in her kit.

'Mr Cleaver's booked the pitch for his boys' team' she sighed.

'That's well out of order' Aleesha said, stood beside her.

Miss Koreshi nodded 'well, unfortunately not everyone's as keen on girls' football'

'That's dead sexist that is Miss' Janeece complained, Chlo agreeing.

'Exactly' Weslie added 'he can't do that' she said, pulling her shirt on over her head.

'Exactly Janeece' Miss Koreshi agreed 'and do you know what he suggested? That we get rid of the girls football team' the girls started to mutter angrily 'and, wait for it, form a cheerleading squad'

Janeece laughed and got up onto her feet 'what? Us? Cheerleaders?'

'Like in Bring it On?' Maxine asked, smirking 'that'd be mint' the other girls started chattering, agreeing excitedly, seemingly a lot more keen on the idea than Miss Koreshi had thought they would be.

'Please Maxine' Koreshi called, trying to restore calm.

'Wait, but everyone knows the cheerleaders get all the fit blokes' Janeece said.

'And the fit gear' Weslie said, smirking 'we need costumes'

'Definitely' Maxine said, nodding 'we could use the old gymnastics team's gear, it's all in boxes at the back of the gym' she said, grabbing Weslie and Janeece, dragging them off to find it.

……

Weslie and Paul were walking home together. The girls had abandoned their own football practice and had dressed up as cheerleaders, performing a short routine for the boys, who had been impressed. Bolton and Janeece had flirted afterwards, and he'd promised to text her later, and was currently busy walking home with her and Maxine.

So Paul and Weslie were left to walk alone, and he didn't mind one bit. She was still wearing the tight blue costumes, which he had been greatly fond of, but was also wearing his jacket over the top, as her blazer was buried at the bottom of her bag. He couldn't stop himself smiling; she looked adorable in his jacket.

'I can't believe Bolton's binned us off for Janeece' Paul grumbled, trying to make conversation with her after they both fell silent.

Weslie laughed and shrugged her shoulders 'Oh I don't mind, he's busy trying to pull her isn't he' Paul laughed nodded. She looked at him for a moment; she loved how blue his eyes were and said 'what about you Langley? You interested in anybody?'

'_You'_ was what he wanted to say, but of course he never would, so instead he shook his head 'Nahh, you?'

She shook her head too, biting her lip 'Not right now' she said.

Relief washed over him; no one was far better than Bolton 'I have a bad track record with boys' she smirked.

'Oh?' he asked 'like how?'

She shrugged her shoulders 'I don't know, just everyone I ever like either treats me like dirt or doesn't know I even exist' she said with a sad smile, Paul reached out and took her hand.

'Tell you what Wes, if we're both single by 40, I'll marry you' he promised.

She beamed and nodded 'deal'


	26. Chapter 26

Waterloo Road was buzzing. The staff weren't aware, but the students knew that Donte Charles had arranged for Bolton to participate in an underground boxing match with another boy from a local school, whose staff were also unaware of the arrangement. Bolton was looking forward to the match and was feeling pumped up and ready for it.

He had also recently begun dating Janeece, who was happy showing him off as her boyfriend. He told his friends as soon as he'd asked her to be his girlfriend, and had grinned through the mandatory teasing from them. Paul was happy about it too, keeping Bolton occupied with another girl was enough to assure he wasn't into Weslie, for now.

Love was seemingly in the air around Waterloo Road, as Maxine Barlow had started dating Earl Kelly, much to the dismay of Steph Haydock, who was Maxine's guardian, as she greatly disapproved of their relationship and couldn't seem to shake sense into Maxine.

Weslie was busy with her own performance to worry too much about Bolton's, as she had finally taken the leap of faith and decided she would perform outside of school and had auditioned to perform at an exhibition gala in the Urbis in Manchester, and had been successful.

She'd been chosen to sing two songs for them and would be performing in less than a week, so she was practicing hard. She'd told her friends and family, and had made Paul and Bolton promise they would come.

But her performance wasn't here yet and for now Bolton was priority. He had been on edge all day and was feeling both nervous and excited, and was doing his best from keeping Cleaver from finding out.

'You think you can take him?' Weslie asked, half slouched, half lay across her desk, lazily playing with the ribbon of the heart shaped balloon Paul had given to her. Steph Haydock had been handing them out earlier along with leaflets for her speed dating event she was hosting in the school hall, and Paul had secured a purple one to give to Weslie, who had been delighted and rewarded him by almost knocking him over in haste to hug him.

Grantly hadn't been as enthusiastic about having a balloon in his classroom and demanded she take it outside and leave it there, she had compromised by putting a small slit in it, along the seem and letting the air out, so she could keep it and take it home with her, any present from Paul was worth keeping in her eyes.

Bolton pulled a face that suggested her doubts in him were unfounded 'Pshht, yeah, course man' he said confidently, though he certainly didn't look it.

'What if Cleaver finds out?' Paul asked from beside Weslie, where he was absent mindedly playing with her hair, which was tied back.

'Shh! Keep your voice down!' he hissed at Paul, a stern look on his face, Paul pulled an apologetic face and looked up to check if Grantly, who had his nose buried in the Racing Post, had heard anything 'and he won't find out' he said sternly. He looked up at the clock, it was almost three, almost time to leave for the match and he was counting the seconds, almost less than a minute now.

'Alright, calm down' Paul said warily, holding his hands up, then picking up her hair again and twirling it around his fingers. She smiled to herself when she could feel him lightly tugging on her hair and got shivers down her spine.

'Sorry' Bolton mumbled 'I just wanna get out of here' he said, leaning forwards and hiding his face behind his hands, rubbing his eyes. He looked tired and Weslie was in no doubt he'd been up late texting Janeece 'Sir' Bolton called, getting Mr Budgen's attention, who looked up, unimpressed.

'What is it Smilie?' he asked in his usual monotone drone.

'I'm not feeling well Sir' Bolton lied 'can I go to the toilet?' he asked.

Budgen rolled his eyes and nodded towards the door; Bolton smiled and picked his bag up, winking at his friends before making a break for the door.

'He isn't coming back is he?' Weslie smirked, sitting up to look at Paul, her hair falling out of his fingers.

Paul smiled 'Course he isn't, he's probably gone to find Jan' he said, crossing his arm over his chest and huffing, he wasn't happy about how little time he was getting to spend with Bolton, between boxing and Janeece, he barely ever saw him, but on the plus side, he got a lot of time alone with Weslie, which was nothing but good in his eyes.

'You think he'll do alright later?' she asked him seriously.

He nodded 'Yeah, why wouldn't he?' he asked, frowning.

She sighed deeply, the way she did when she was anxious 'I don't know, what if he isn't ready for it?' she asked as the bell to signal the end of the day rang and they got up, picking their bags up and making for the door.

'Course he's ready' Paul assured her, squeezing her shoulder 'he's been training really hard for weeks'

'I suppose' she mumbled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she pulled it out of it's bobble and let it fall down her shoulders, chewing her lip.

'Come on' he said, linking her arm and smiling at her, pulling her alone 'he's going to be fine, now let's go enjoy the fight'

She smiled and nodded 'you're probably right, let's go then'

...

They stepped off the coach, Paul getting off before Weslie and holding his hand out for her, helping her down and looked around at the dilapidated tire factory Donte had chosen to host Bolton's underground match.

'Oh' Weslie said dryly, pushing her hair back 'charming' she said, grimacing up at the place.

'Could've been worse' Paul said appearing behind her, slipping an arm around her waist and leading her inside. Inside a mock ring had been set up with striped tape, which was strapped up between the old metal support bars. The place was already half full of Waterloo Road students, all stood around the ring and on the huge metal staircase beside it.

Weslie and Paul went up to the top of the staircase and secured themselves places on the walkway directly above the mock ring, the perfect view. The atmosphere inside was electric; people were cheering and shouting for Bolton, jeering at the other boy, who was already inside the ring.

A few minutes later Bolton entered the ring to thunderous applause and cheering from the Waterloo Students.

'COME ON BOLTON!' Weslie was screaming, along with forty other people.

Then the fight started. Bolton was quick and agile, bobbing and weaving out of the way of the other boys swings, keeping him on his toes as he moved around the ring, easily controlling the situation, even pulling his head guard off and throwing it to the floor.

'What the hell is he doing?' Weslie demanded, talking loudly to Paul over the deafening cheering behind them.

Paul shook his head 'I don't know' he yelled back 'Don't worry Weslie, he'll be fine' he said, turning his attention back to his friend and shouting his name at the top of his voice, feeling the strain on his throat.

Bolton danced around the boy, preserving his energy and concentrating only on his opponent, throwing carefully placed jabs at him, hitting him in all the right places, just as he had been taught. They fought on for a few minutes, each of them trying to entice the other into making a silly move, but all the while staying out of the way of real danger. The people watching were screaming and shouting, slamming hands down on the railings, getting caught up in the moment. Both boys had started to sweat, but were far from tired, they were both trained for this.

'I SAID STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!' They span around as the voice of Rachel Mason rang out furiously, she was with Rob Cleaver, the both of them looking down at Bolton with murderous looks on their faces. The place fell silent.

'OUT!' she bellowed 'NOW!' Paul and Weslie shared an anxious glance and filled out silently, following the others. Weslie held her hands behind her back, Paul holding them, his fingers linked with hers.

They walked out silently, listening to Rachel grilling Donte about the event and the costs of another coach she'd hired to replace the one they had come on, which had been graffitied all over the front windows, rendering it undriveable.

'Holy shit' Weslie whispered, holding her hand over her mouth and looking up at it. It was a mess, the entire front window had been completely covered 'who did that?' she exclaimed.

'Who do you think?' he asked. She turned round to look at him and found him nodding towards Earl Kelly, who was stood twenty feet away with a satisfied smirk on his face. A shiver ran down her spine and she took an involuntary step towards Paul, who put his arm around her shoulder and helped her onto the coach.


	27. Chapter 27

Weslie sat in the back of her parent's car fidgeting. Her fingers were shaking and she was tapping her foot against the side of her fathers' seat, which was irritating him no need, but he kept quiet. She was nervously playing with the end of her hair, which was tied back and staring out of the window, watching the lights of Manchester city centre pass by.

In the front of the car her mother was just as nervous, biting her nails and throwing anxious glances at her husband every 3 or so seconds, wearing a very stern, almost angry expression, as it this were all this fault. Though she did feel she could put the 'blame' on him, if there was any blame to place that is, as she hadn't a talented bone in her body, and his family were known for being good singers, though none of them weren't anywhere near Weslie's standard.

She wouldn't ever confess it to her, but Weslie's talent terrified her. She'd never known anyone with a voice like her; it was big, powerful and always so, so easy for her. Her daughter had never failed to hit any note or sing any song she attempted, and she had definitely been put through her paces, she'd managed Whitney songs, Tina Turner songs, Celine Dion, and more and it had always been a breeze for her.

Paul reached out and grabbed Weslie's hand, stopping her fingers from shaking and squeezing her fingers, she turned and gave him a smile off immense gratitude, thankful Amelia had opted to drive James and the twins to the Urbis, so Paul and Bolton could come with her and her parents.

'I told you not to think about it' he said to her, smiling.

She laughed and nodded 'I know, but it's hard to think about anything else to be honest' she admitted.

'You're going to be fine' he said firmly squeezing her fingers so much they hurt, but she still appreciated it.

'Course you will man' Bolton added from Paul's other side, leaning forward to talk to her 'this is nothing for you, we all know how good you are' he assured her with one of his trademark grins.

'Yeah, you know, and I know, but what if they don't like me?' she asked, jerking her thumb in the direction of the huge silver building they were approaching.

Paul snorted and shook his head 'Why wouldn't they? You're amazing'

She rolled her eyes 'Yees' she said, overemphasizing the word 'but you're my best friends, you're supposed to think that'

'Nahh Wes' Bolton said, shaking his head 'if you were shit I'd tell you' he said with a nod, making her laugh and relax a little. She sat back in her seat and watched the Urbis drawing closer, stilling holding Pauls hand as they pulled into the car park a few minutes later and climbed out as Amelia pulled up and parked beside them.

Weslie shut the car door and took a moment to calm herself down, taking in a deep breath as her father opened the trunk and very carefully pulled out a long plain black clothes bag, carrying it.

'What's that?' Bolton asked as they all started to walk in.

'Weslie's outfits' he said, carrying it laid over his arms, as not to drag it along the floor.

'More than one?' Bolton asked, confused.

'More than one' Her mother nodded catching up with them, carrying the boxes with the shoes she'd be wearing in them 'two in fact'

Bolton looked interested 'Nice, what are they? Can I look?' he asked, attempting to get a look inside through the tiny hole just above the zip. Her father smiled and moved the bag out of Bolton's way laughing 'Sorry Bolton, it's more than my life's worth to show _anyone _these before she puts them on, women are freakishly protective over their clothes' he said with a wink at Bolton, who laughed.

'Oi, watch your mouth!' Amelia called from behind him, carrying James, who was being too lazy to walk 'You have four daughters remember, and all of them are here' she warned him.

'Yeah yeah, I know' he said, as they came to the main entrance and walked in through huge glass doors. Inside were posters for the exhibition, along with a list of the people who'd be performing in the hour long concert they were hosting.

Weslie walked to the reception desk, where a tall dark skinned man was standing behind it, looking at something at the computer, he smiled and looked up when she approached 'Good afternoon' he said in a deep, soothing voice 'can I help you with something?'

Weslie smiled a nervous smile and nodded 'Um, yeah, I'm Weslie Connor, I'm performing tonight' she informed him.

He smiled and stepped out from behind the counter 'Oh I see, if you'll follow me this way Miss Connor, you're needed backstage' he said, leading them around towards a door at the other end of the reception area 'I'm afraid you can only take one person backstage with you' he added 'but your friends and family can wait in the reception area until the show starts if that's okay?'

Weslie nodded and said breathlessly 'Yeah, that's fine' She turned around 'Mum, will you come with me?'

She smiled 'of course I will darling' she assured her daughter, taking the clothes bag from her husband and kissing him on the cheek. He hugged his daughter next and whispered into her ear 'be fantastic Wes' before letting her go.

She hugged everyone, nodding whilst they wished her luck and came to Paul last, who was looking almost as nervous as she felt, she smiled as he looked at her for a moment, so proud of her, and pulled her into a tight hug 'Good luck Wes, I'll be watching' he whispered, then did something she didn't expect as he pulled away from her, he kissed her cheek.

She looked at him curiously as she pulled away, but with a small smile playing on her lips, and nodded once, before turning away from him and following her mother through the door that would lead them backstage.

…

Out in the auditorium, Paul was feeling nervous. He was fidgeting in his seat and wringing the free programme in his hands, screwing it up and making a mess whenever tiny bits of paper fell off. He'd been feeling sick with nerves ever since she'd left them, and was feeling worse now that he knew she was coming on stage in just minutes.

She'd text him a few times whilst she was backstage; keeping him updated with what was happening and what time she was likely to be on. They'd been sat in there a while and had already watched several people perform, and he was getting anxious to see Weslie. He wasn't the only one too, along with Bolton and her family, Weslie had another admirers in the audience, he had Candeece Smilie sitting a few rows behind them, and even Matt Wilding and Rachel Mason, along with a handful of Waterloo Road students they had brought with them on a minibus, having arranged it to take them, even if it wasn't a school day.

They had been sitting through act after act, they were all good, but not as good as Weslie, and Paul couldn't wait to see her and the reactions she would get when she finally came on stage.

He was starting to get impatient and irritated when he finally saw her mother slip in through a door near the stage and rush to her seat on the end of their row, beside Weslie's father 'She's on next' he heard her whisper. His stomach did a back flip and his eyes darted to the stage where the man hosting the event was stood in front of the microphone. He smiled, a piano had been wheeled onto stage, and that could only be for her.

'Wonderful, wonderful!' he said, clapping the last act which had been ballet dancers, and very dull as far as Paul was concerned 'Well ladies and gentlemen, we have a real treat for you in the form of a very promising young singer from Rochdale, I'd like you to welcome Miss Weslie Connor and Mr Dylan Shephard to the stage' he said with a wide smile, clapping along with the audience.

Paul clapped and looked at Bolton, both of them wearing the same confused expression, they had no idea she wouldn't be up there alone. He looked up as she finally walked out onto the stage, his breath caught in his throat, she was _beautiful._ He'd never seen her look like that before in his life. She was wearing a floor length backless silver gown, figure hugging to the waist, with her hair down and curly. Her eyes were highlighted with black eye shadow and her lips were blood red. She walked to the front of the stage with the boy, where they both took a bow, and then took their places, Weslie sat at the piano, and he stood at the microphone.

Paul looked down at his programme, reading it for the first time and saw her name 'Weslie Connor and Dylan Shephard – 'Hello' By Lionel Ritchie'

He looked back up as she started to play and he started to sing. He swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes from her, overwhelmed with how incredible she looked. He was completely enraptured by her, watching her fingers and the concentration on her face, watching as she started to sing with him, sounding as breathtaking as ever, making it look so easy as they sang in perfect harmony, playing the piano beautifully as the violins kicked in and he got goose bumps.

She looked up at the crowd every so often, trying to find her friends and family, but never could, concentrating too much on playing and singing as they were coming towards the end of the song. Paul almost lost any sense of where he was as he watched her, forgetting about everything around him and just watching her doing her thing, seeing her up there, it struck him just how happy she looked, and how obviously good at it she was.

He snapped back to reality when the final note rang out and the audience started to clap. Bolton was on his feet, whistling loudly, her parent's too, cheering for her. Paul got to his and clapped so hard his hands were hurting. She finally spotted them and her face cracked into a beautiful smile, waving and bowing, so proud of herself, but nowhere near as proud as her friends and family where.

…

Weslie was still beaming as they walked back out to the car park over an hour later. Her second song had gone down better than her duet. She had sung Aerosmith's Dream On, and the crowd had loved it when she'd hit the huge note at the end.

She was still wearing her second outfit, which was a short sequined silver dress, a black leather jacket and black shoe-boots. Amelia had already gone home a while earlier with James and the twins, who were all tired, so it was just Weslie, her parent's and her two best friends.

Weslie was almost skipping as she walked between her friends, still in her full face of make up and looking a lot older than 16.

'Weslie!' they all turned around as they heard Candeece Smilie calling her and saw her jogging towards them, a huge proud smile on her face.

She ran to Weslie and engulfed her in a huge bone crunching hug 'Oooh I'm so proud of you' you said, hugging her tightly, smiling at her and holding her face in her hands when she pulled away 'you're were amazing up there'

'Thanks Candeece' She said, smiling so wide her cheeks where hurting 'and thank you so much for coming' she said sincerely.

Candeece shook her head 'Oh not at all, I wouldn't have missed this for the world' she assured her, before turning and grabbing Bolton by the arm 'Come on' she said, dragging him 'You can come home with me. Bye Weslie darling' she said, waving and dragging a complaining Bolton away.

'Bye Bolton!' she called after her friend, he gave her a feeble wave and let his mother drag him away. Weslie and Paul started to follow her family to the car, who where already almost there.

Paul slipped his hand into hers, glad to finally have her to himself and pulled her into a hug, the two of them stopping again, with her heels on, she was just about taller than him 'you were amazing' he told her, his arms fastened around her waist tightly, hers around his shoulders.

She sighed and relaxed into him 'I was terrified' she admitted 'but it was okay, I knew you were there' she said.

Paul tightened his grip on there 'I'm always going to be there Wes'


	28. Chapter 28

_You woulda got this sooner but I've been really busy & I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since I sat down to plan it out, so I wanted to make sure it was completely perfect then the document upload didn't want to work, so further delays, enjoy._

Paul and Bolton were not impressed. Weslie was home alone and had been for over a day, her family having gone away on their short break, leaving her behind as she'd asked, and leaving her with the house to herself. She'd been a little uneasy at first and had slept the first night with every single door and window locked. But when she had woken safe and sound the morning after and with the dog still asleep at the bottom of her bed, she relaxed and started to enjoy having the house to herself.

That Friday in school had been the slowest of her life, despite the fact she attended Waterloo Road and there was always something going on. She was watching her watch for almost the whole day, wishing it over so she could get Friday out of the way and have her BBQ on Saturday. She spent the majority of Friday night with Paul, who had come to keep her company seeing as she was on her own, Bolton joining them later in the evening when he had finished his boxing training.

So when Saturday finally arrived, Weslie was excited and both relieved. She woke later than she thought she would, only getting up at 11am when the dog started climbing all over her, asking to be fed.

She took her time showering and doing her hair that morning, waiting for Paul to call her when he and Bolton were ready to help her with the shopping and setting up the BBQ, as she had no idea what she was doing and didn't much fancy the idea of messing it up before it even began. Having the house to herself was weird, and she wasn't used to silence, so she filled it with music, using her dads expensive surround sound system he'd had installed in the TV room and linking it up to her iPod.

It was almost 3pm when she finally heard her phone ringing and had to run up the stairs in order to catch it before she missed the call, almost tripping on the stairs on her way up.

'Oh about time!' she exclaimed breathlessly, answering the phone.

'What do you mean?' Paul asked, outraged, after all he'd been the one sat on the other end listening to it ring and ring.

'Have you seen the time Langley?' she asked, looking down at her watch even though she already knew the time.

'I know, I know I'm sorry' he apologised 'I had to wait for Bolton to finish training, it's all he's ever doing these days, and since the underground fight he's keener than ever to impress Cleaver' he explained.

'Oh yeah' she mumbled, chewing her lip and thinking for a moment 'Anyway' she said, snapping back to reality 'you've called now so it's okay, are you ready to go?' she asked.

'Indeed we are' he said cheerfully.

'Great' she smiled 'I'm going to get my bag, call a taxi and I'll pick you both up, where are you? Yours or Bolton's?'

'Bolton's, how soon are you getting here?' he asked.

She looked down at her watch again 'About ten minutes probably, just got to phone a taxi'

'Right, and we're going for BBQ stuff, so err, what's the deal with booze?' he asked tentatively.

Weslie laughed 'Oh don't you worry about that, my parent's aren't stupid, they know we're going to be drinking. Dad's locked up his liquor case, but he's bought me some stuff especially for tonight, and my sister's boyfriend's bringing some crates of lager round for you stinky boys later' she said, smirking.

Paul sighed happily 'Weslie Eloise Connor, you're a genius' he said.

She smiled proudly and nodded 'Yes, I know'

…

Bolton and Paul wanted to kill her. She had spent over an hour dragging them both around Asda, unable to decide on what she wanted, not sure which chicken she should get, or how many buns she needed, and in the end she'd ended up buying at least one of everything she had been deliberating over, not wanting to miss out. The boys were horrified when they got to the till and their food came up to well over £100, unable to figure out how she'd managed to spend so much on stuff for a BBQ, even taking into account the bottles of Coke and flavoured water and all sorts of snacks for anyone who didn't want BBQ food, but the two had both shared a nervous glance as they watched the price going up and up, but Weslie never once flinched, and thought nothing of it as she pulled her card out to pay.

'Seriously man!' Bolton exclaimed as they were unpacking back at her house a short while later 'all that money for one BBQ' he said, shaking his head in disbelief, piling bottles into the huge fridge. He still hadn't gotten quite use to things at the Connor household, everything there was big and expensive, money had clearly never been an issue for them.

Weslie shrugged her shoulders 'Mum spends more on a weekly shop' she mumbled, she didn't like to talk about money in front of the boys, she didn't want them to think she was showing off.

' s'alright if you've got it' he mumbled.

She felt her cheeks redden and got an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, she turned to look at him 'You do know we'd always help you out if you ever needed it don't you?' she looked at Paul 'both of you'

Bolton smiled and clapped her on the shoulder 'we know Wes' he said making, her feel a lot better, she smiled and relaxed as he went back to putting the drinks away. She looked to Paul who was still watching her and smiled at him. He held his hand out, she took it and he quickly squeezed her fingers, before letting them go and turning back to what he had been doing it. She smiled continued packing the buns away, thankful her friends were so accepting.

…

Weslie was stressed and nervous by the time her first guests arrived at almost 6. She'd barely had time to change before they did, but had managed it. Paul thought her outfit was beautiful because it was so simple. She was wearing a long sleeved hooded, knitted dress, which came down to her thighs and a black shirt underneath with, tights, black books and a short black leather jacket. He adored how she could look so beautiful and yet so casual, and still make it look so easy. She'd left her curly hair down, with a black and white bandana rolled up and tied in her hair, keeping most of it out of her way.

She skipped down the stairs excitedly when she heard the bell rang, an excited smile on her face and pulled the door open, finding Danielle and Aleesha stood outside. She smiled widely and let the girls in, hugging them both and leading them through to the conservatory.

'We've brought some booze' Aleesha said with a wink, shaking her bag, which clanged with the sound of glass bottles hitting each other.

Weslie smiled 'I knew you wouldn't let me down ladies' she said with a wink, all three girls laughed 'there's a mini fridge in the conservatory' she said as the doorbell rang again 'Paul will show you where, and make sure Bolton's behaving for me?' she said, turning and running back to the door.

'I can't make any promises!' Aleesha called after her.

Weslie pulled the door open again and found it was Donte and Chlo, along with Flick and Marley 'Good evening Miss Connor' Donte said in his usual manner, wearing a pair of ridiculous sunglasses 'I believe someone ordered the life and soul of the party' he said, gesturing to himself as she stepped aside to let them in.

'You're right Donte' she said, sharing a glance with Chlo, who rolled her eyes, smiling 'Hasn't arrived yet though' she smirked, shutting the door behind them and saying hello to Flick and Marley.

Donte was distracted though, taking off his glasses and looking around the impressively large entrance area they were stood in 'Whoa' he breathed, looking up at the huge floor to ceiling windows at the top of the bend in the stairs 'very nice' he said.

Chlo rolled her eyes again and grabbed him by the arm 'Come on!' she said, dragging him away.

'Where is everyone Wes?' Marley, who looked unsure as to whether he should be there or not. Weslie hated the bones of Earl, but she'd always liked Marley, and as far as she was concerned, he was just as welcome as any of her guests.

She smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder 'Glad you two could make it' she said, pointing through towards the conservatory 'through there, right to the end, conservatory, you can't miss it' she said, they smiled and went through. She would've led them through, but she could hear the unmistakable voices of Maxine Barlow and Janeece Bryant approaching.

She smiled and opened the door as they came down the drive way, laughing loudly and being followed by Michaela White, who had just stepped out of a car 'Good evening ladies!' Weslie called to them as they approached.

They looked up 'This place is _massive _Wes!' Maxine exclaimed, stepping inside and looking around as Donte had done.

Weslie smiled and said hello to Michaela, who had stepped in beside them and whispered into her ear 'I saw Phil Ryan not far away when my dad was dropping me off, looks like he's on his way here'

Weslie pulled a face 'Oh, I forgot about him, I had to invite him cause he was listening in when I was telling Dan and Aleesha' she said, shrugging. Maxine and Janeece went off to find the others 'Didn't think he would come though' she said.

Michaela shrugged and followed Weslie through after she shut the door 'You're joking aren't you? No chance he'd miss an opportunity to try and fit in with Bolton and Paul' she said dryly.

Weslie laughed 'of course, I never thought of it like that, I kind of feel bad for him you know' she said.

Michaela gave her a disbelieving look 'Why? He's a freak' she spat.

Weslie nodded 'Well .. yeah, but I was the new kid last year, it's not fun' she said, shrugging.

Michaela gave her a look 'Yeah, but you weren't a freak'

Weslie laughed and heard the door bell ring again 'I bet he's not all that bad really' she said 'I better go let him in' Michaela nodded and went through to the others alone, whilst Weslie went to welcome her last guest.

….

Weslie was in the kitchen making drinks, and could hear her friends chatting and laughing out on the patio. She had put out the garden furniture for them to sit on. Bolton was stood at the BBQ wearing a ridiculous apron and Donte had placed himself in charge of the music, using Weslie's laptop which she had wired up to a set of speakers the boys had carried outside for her.

She had taken out the cocktail mixer and was following a recipe she had found online, mixing a few drinks together for the girls.

'Oh, what's this?' she said, outraged when she walked back out onto the patio and found every seat occupied. No one answered, but they looked up and laughed at her 'And to think, I made drinks' she said, pouring the drink she had mixed out into the glasses waiting on the table. Maxine and Janeece picked their drinks us, as did Danielle and Aleesha, but not Chlo; she held her hand up to stop Weslie from pouring her one.

'No thanks Wes' she said with a smile 'I'm not drinking'

Weslie frowned and picked her own drink up, looking around for a seat and not finding one, she sat down on Paul's lap, who tried his hardest to hide a smirk 'Why not? You're not ill are you?' she asked.

She looked at Donte, a small smile playing on her lips and he nodded. She smiled wider and looked back at Weslie 'I may as well tell you all now' she took a deep breath, still smiling 'I'm pregnant'

Everyone except Janeece, Maxine and Donte gasped; obviously they knew 'Oh my god!' Weslie gasped, smiling 'Congratulations!' she said, getting up to hug Chlo after Flick had.

'That it so cool Chlo!' Aleesha exclaimed 'I'd love a baby' she said longingly.

'You? With a baby? You've got to be joking Leesh' Danielle scoffed, laughing as Weslie sat back down on Pauls laugh, the two of them smiling at each other for a moment, before turning away 'there's no way you could handle a baby, too busy making sure you look good to look after anyone else' she joked, flicking her hair back in a perfect imitation of her friend, making the others laugh.

'We definitely don't need another one of you Aleesha' Bolton said.

'Oi!' She exclaimed, throwing a hot dog at him, which he dodged easily.

Weslie laughed with the others, and looked up as Stotch came trotting out to investigate the source of all the noise, and going directly to the hotdog on the floor 'Hey buddy' Weslie said, tickling him behind the ears when he came over to sit behind her with his stolen food.

'Aww he's lovely!' Janeece exclaimed, cooing along with all the other girls 'what's his name?' she asked, bending and trying to call him over, she obviously didn't remember his invasion of the football pitch a year previously.

'Stotch' she said, looking down at him fondly. His ears perked up once he was done with his hotdog and heard seven females all calling him over. He got up lazily and padded over. Weslie laughed, she knew that look he pulled very well, pretending it was very hard work for him to walk all the way over there and be adored.

'He's such an attention whore' she laughed, watching him getting scratched all over his back, clearly loving it.

'How old is he?' Marley asked, sliding into the seat beside her and Paul, which Chlo, who was now leaning in front of the dog, had been sitting in.

'7 I think, I've had him a while' she said.

'And what's that down there?' Phillip asked, pointing to the stables at the very far end of the garden.

'Oh, that's Ruin, he's my twin sisters horse' she explained. He pulled an impressed face and nodded.

'You've got a horse too?' Janeece asked.

Weslie laughed 'We've got all sorts of animals in here; we're the stop off before Noah's ark'

Weslie looked up as Donte changed songs and Don't Stop the Music by Rihanna came on. She was on her feet immediately, putting her drink down and turning back to Paul, grabbing his hand.

'Oooh I love this song!' She exclaimed 'dance with me?'

His eyes widened 'What?' he said, taken aback.

'Dance with me' she begged, squeezing his hand 'pleeeease' she said, dragging it out.

'I can't dance' he argued, she pouted and he looked at her sceptically, she gave him her best begging face and with grunt he caved.

'Fine, fine, let's dance' he said getting up.

She squealed and pulled him across to the makeshift dance floor, where Janeece and Maxine were already dancing and Aleesha and Danielle were getting up too, Bolton joining them. She stopped on the decking area and pulled him towards her, her hands on his shoulders, his on her waist as she started to move in time with the music, Paul following her lead, if a little hesitantly.

He couldn't help but watch her face as she danced, holding her hips and adoring the way she felt pressed against him. She was beautiful, her hair blowing in the wind and the mischievous look on her face, loving every second of it.

He was so enraptured by her, and overwhelmed by his feelings for her that he almost lost any sense of where he was, totally enthralled by her. He looked at her face, her perfect skin and felt the urge he'd had many times, the urge to kiss her. He resisted as always, scared she would reject him if he went for it and pretended he wasn't desperate to kiss her.

She looked up and locked her eyes with him, feeling closer to him than ever, really looking at him, taking in every inch of his face and features, looking into his deep blue eyes. She became aware of how tight they were pressed together, and his hands on the bottom of her back, just above her backside. She could almost feel herself being drawn into him.

Then the music stop and they both realised where they were, looking round and finding every set of eyes on them. She blushed violet and stepped back, biting her lip. She busied herself with fixing her hair and sat down in one of the chairs, avoiding Bolton's smirking glare.

…

Weslie was exhausted by the time everyone had left. Bolton and Maxine had gone early, Bolton because he had to be up for training, and Maxine to see Earl. She and Janeece had argued briefly over it before she left.

The night had still gone well despite the upset and everyone had had a good time. Janeece, Aleesha and Danielle had all left together, drunk and linking with each other.

It was almost 3am when everyone had finally left and the patio was a mess, full of empty beer cans, bottles and half eaten BBQ food. Weslie had given it one look and had abandoned it, deciding she would clean it the morning after.

She was fighting to stay awake when she finally climbed into bed with Paul, who had decided to stay in her room with her when she offered. They had changed in separate bathrooms and climbed into bed together.

'I'm exhausted' she yawned, lying down under the covers and turning over onto her side like she did every night.

'Good night though' Paul said, who was feeling wide awake now that he was in her bed with her.

'Definitely' she mumbled, her eyelids heavy 'I'm glad everyone enjoyed it'

He smiled 'Everyone loved it Wes, you throw a good party' he said.

She chuckled 'Thanks Langley' she yawned again and ran a hand through her hair 'I'm so tired' she mumbled.

'Go to sleep' he said simply.

She rolled over onto her back and smiled at him; lay on his side beside her, he looked lovely and she was thankful he was there with her. She grabbed his hand and wrapped her own around it, rolling back over onto her side, pulling him up behind her and wrapping his arm around her.


	29. Chapter 29

_I know, I know, I've been terrible for updates recently, I can't explain how busy I've been, I'll try to pick up the slack, I'm off to start a new chapter right now, you should have it by tomorrow, and don't worry, what you want is coming soon, if you get me ;] I'm going to start you off with a song lyric tonight, which is something completely new for me, but I'm going to do in a few other chapters, only when I find lines I feel are fitting to the storyline, I have a few already written down, I have done for a while too, but I've been waiting for the right time to use them. I've been planning some future chapters again, I have the main storyline for Part 3, which will be Series 5 as we know it, planned out, which I'm very excited about. Anyway, enough prattling on, here's your chapter. _

'_The one thing, you can't have you like too much'_

Weslie was busy feeding the dog and barely noticed her phone was ringing. It wasn't late, and she'd not long since left the park with Paul, as they had been watching Bolton training hard for his fight with Cleaver. It was getting closer and closer and the pressure was starting to get to him, he was training harder than ever, longer hours and working as hard as he could, pushing his body to its limits every day.

They had stayed for a few hours, sitting on the swings and watching Bolton jogging around the park and sparring with Cleaver, until they finally left as it was starting to go dark. Weslie had asked Paul if he wanted to come back with her as her mother usually cooked way too much food, and he had accepted. He was spending more and more time round at the Connor household as the year wore on, not only because Bolton was always busy, but because he adored spending time with Weslie.

'Alright, alright calm down' she said to the dog excitedly jumping around her feet whilst she tried to carry his now full dish out for him. Paul laughed as she nearly fell over him and grabbed the dog round the middle, pulling him back 'he's a right pain he is' she said grumpily, putting his dish down and stepping over him, heading for the stairs with Paul following her.

'You love him' Paul said, giving her shoulder a little shove from behind.

She smirked 'Of course I do, but he's still a pain' she said, looking over her shoulder to him 'come on, I fancy watching a DVD'

Paul frowned 'Is that your phone?' he asked.

She pressed a finger to her lips and listened hard, eventually, she heard her ringtone 'Shit, it is' she said, running up the last of the stairs and shoving her door open, making a dive for her phone, which was on the bed. She looked down at it before she answered and saw it was Chlo calling her, she was confused.

'Hello?' she said.

Paul watched at the look of confusion on her face faded away and the colour faded, she went white and her face was expressionless for a second, then she started to breath hard. He took hold of her shoulders, he knew that breathing pattern well, she was trying to keep herself calm.

'How?' she asked, her voice shaking. He heard Chlo on the other end, but couldn't make out what was being said 'Oh god' Weslie moaned, her shoulders started to shake and she started to sob. Paul came to stand in front of her, shaking her shoulders 'what is it?' he mouthed. Weslie shook her head, tears streaming down her face; she was close to breaking down.

'Okay' she whispered, her voice thick from trying not to cry 'thanks Chlo' She dropped the phone back onto her bed. She looked up at Paul and for a moment couldn't talk, she stared at him and finally managed to croak; 'Maxine is dead' then with a bone chilling cry of agony, she dropped to her knees and broke down completely.

…

Paul had stayed with her overnight, normally her parent's wouldn't have allowed her to have anyone stay over when she had school the next day, but under the circumstances, they thought it was best Paul stay with her, as he knew best how to deal with her. It had been an awful night in the Connor household, both her parent's didn't know what to do, and her even her brother knew something was wrong, so the whole family stayed out of her way and left her to grieve with Paul.

She had briefly spoken to Bolton that night, he hadn't come to his friends, instead he had gone to stay with Janeece, who was in pieces, she had been with Maxine when she had died and needed him to be with her.

Since then, the three of them had talked about it, and all three blamed themselves for Maxine's death. If they had been brave enough to tell someone that it had been Earl's gun that had been in the school all those months ago, Maxine would still be alive. But because of their cowardice, she was gone and nothing could ever bring her back.

The school was in a deep state of shock and mourning. Maxine was missed by many people and almost everyone at Waterloo Road wanted revenge on Earl, but no one wanted it as bad as Bolton.

He hadn't been himself all week. He was quiet and almost always shaking with anger, and only Paul and Weslie knew what was wrong with him. They had tried to talk about it to him, they needed to tell someone about it now, to get Denzel Kelly out of the institute he was in, but Bolton downright refused to even speak about it.

It was all getting to Weslie, who had broken down in tears more than once, wracked with guilt and grief, she missed her friend, and felt disgusted that she in part had caused this.

Paul hadn't been happy when they had gone back into school a week after Maxine's unfortunate death and found that the Kelly's were back. A lot of people there felt they had no right to be there, but Weslie had dragged him away, it wasn't their fault, and they shouldn't suffer for Earl's mistakes.

'They shouldn't be here!' Paul protested angrily as she pulled him away, holding onto the sleeve of his jacket.

'Just leave it Paul' she mumbled, not wanting to go over this.

'They shouldn't though!' she could tell he was getting wound up 'they've no right after what's happened! After what he did to Maxine!'

She span round to face him 'And neither do we!' she hissed 'this is just as much our fault as it is his, we're more to blame than they are' she said, gesturing to the doors, through which the Kelly family were stood with Rachel Mason.

Paul faltered 'but, but maybe if she'd raised him differently' he argued feebly.

'We can stand here all day and ponder over the maybes', it won't make a difference' she sighed and turned away, hiding her face in her hand and starting to walk away, feeling that awful guilty weight in her chest.

'Sorry' he mumbled, catching her up 'we just need to get this sorted' he said, linking his arm with hers.

'I know' she said, looking down at her feet 'but we can't, they'd crucify us'

…

Bolton was still off when they met up with him for lessons later on, as he had spent the morning in he gym training. He sat silently during Tom Clarkson's lesson, not even looking at his friends. He didn't want to speak to either of them. He knew Weslie wanted it all out now, and he knew all it took for Paul to want to talk was for Weslie to want it.

He sat in silence, not listening but brooding over the whole situation, until he looked up and saw Marley Kelly outside their classroom. Bolton bolted for the door after Marley, who spotted him and ran.

'Bolton!' Paul calling, taking off after him, Weslie hot on his heels. Clarkson called after them, but none of the teens listened as they all ran down the corridor after Marley Kelly, Paul and Weslie calling for Bolton to stop.

Marley was backing away from Bolton, trying to reason with him, but it was useless, as Bolton swung at him and hit him square in the jaw with a perfectly placed punch, knocking him to the ground. Bolton made to climb on top of him, Paul tried to pull him off.

'What's going on?' Eddie Lawson called as he emerged from one of the rooms behind them, pulling Paul away 'Paul get out of the way' Mason appear behind him, pulling Weslie aside, where Paul took hold of her arm and pulled her close to him.

Eddie dragged Bolton off as Candeece Smilie emerged from the room 'what do you think you're doing?' he exclaimed, holding him back.

'Have you learned nothing?' Marley exclaimed from where he sat bleeding, slouched against the wall.

'You're a dead man!' Bolton screamed 'we want you and your family out of here!'

'Shut up!' Weslie hissed angrily, taking a step towards Bolton.

'Bolton, this is stupid, how's this going to keep things quiet?' Paul exclaimed

'Keep what quiet?' Mason demanded 'and that is enough from you' she hissed at Bolton.

People started to emerge from the surrounding classrooms 'That was for Earl man' Bolton spat 'that's what I should've done from day one!'

'You're just as bad as him!' Marley argued, getting to his feet.

'Nahh mate' Bolton shook his head, breathing heavily 'It weren't me that started this'

'I don't care who started it, just calm down alright?' Lawson said, letting go of Bolton but pushing him back away from Marley. Weslie sighed and dropped her head onto Paul's shoulder, hiding her face. He slipped an arm around her shoulders.

'Right do you want to tell me what's going here, and what should you have done to Earl day one Bolton?' Mason asked, furious. Bolton stayed silent, shaking his head, his jaw clenched angrily.

'Get to your lessons now, Go!' Mason said, shooing their audience away 'Someone please tell me' she said, looking from Bolton to Marley 'what started this' No one spoke, Bolton remained silent even after his mother demanded he tell Mason.

'Fine you're going to keep it to yourselves, you get to the cooler, go on' she said, sending Bolton away, who went without a word to anyone.

'Paul, Weslie, I'll speak to you later, go on' Paul nodded and took Weslie's wrist, pulling her away, back through the door at the end of the corridor they had come through, she fought against him at first, wanting to talk, but he grabbed her firmly by the elbow and forced her away. Once out there she stopped walking and turned to him, tears on her face.

'We need to tell them' she said, pleading with him. She knew he would give in eventually, for her.

'We can't, they'll blame us' he said, sighing heavily 'Janeece will hate Bolton'

'That doesn't matter!' she almost screamed 'Denzel is innocent' Weslie hid her face in her hands and turned on the spot, completely conflicted.

'I know, and I feel awful, we should have told them, but we didn't and it's done now' he argued.

'I know, I know, but we shouldn't drag this out any longer, I'm sick of keeping dirty secrets' she sighed and tried not to cry 'I miss Max, and Denzel Kelly is locked up where he shouldn't be' she said, her lip shaking.

Paul sighed and took a step towards her, putting his arms around her, she dropped her head onto his shoulder, and he kissed her hair 'I know, it's going to be okay Wes, I promise'

…

Mason knew she had to get the bottom of it, and she knew there was no way she could get it out of Bolton, she considering trying to get it from Weslie, which she was knew could do, but it'd take time. But she knew the easiest way was to get to Paul, and the best and quickest way to get to him, was through Weslie. She had to play on his feelings for Weslie to get to him, and though she knew she shouldn't, she knew it was the only way.

She didn't want to have to do that to him, but had already tried talking to Paul during their P.E lesson, but had gotten nowhere with him, he was still refusing to talk. So she decided to she had to bring Weslie into it, she knew he would put her first, and if she suggested Weslie would be in trouble if they kept quiet, he'd crack.

She battled with her conscience a while, then decided it had to be done, so called both Weslie and Paul to her office.

'I thought the three of us could have a chat' she said, shutting the door behind her once they were both sat down. She saw them exchange nervous glances 'I wanna know what you meant when you said you'd already tried' she said to Paul, walking around her desk to take her seat. She saw Weslie shoot him a shocked glance 'was that about what Bolton has planned for the Kelly's?'

Paul sat up straight 'What? No' he said.

'That's what it seems like' she mumbled 'seems to me that Bolton's seen Earl get locked up and fancies being top man again'

'No Miss, honest' Paul said, avoiding her eye. Weslie said nothing, staying silent.

'Why else would he attack Marley? Unless it was to intimidate him? Bolton's back to being a thug is he?'

'Look, you've got this wrong' Weslie interjected.

'Then put me right' Paul shook his head, Mason leaned in closer to him 'Paul, I don't know if you know, but whatever Bolton has in mind, you're as culpable as he is'

'What?' he said 'Me?'

She nodded 'both of you' the look on his face told Rachel Mason her words had had the intended affect. She saw the dear momentarily flare up in his eyes, he looked at her, only fleetingly 'if you know what it is, of course. And if you think you can just let it all blow up and pretend you know nothing about it, you are kidding yourself!' Paul was fidgeting in his seat and looked over at Weslie, she pleaded with him silently.

'Oh Paul' Rachel said 'This school's been through enough. Weslie's been through enough' he looked up at Rachel, sliding his hand into Weslie's, which was sat on her lap 'do you really think we need to see Bolton go the same way as Earl'

'He's not' he insisted, absent mindedly squeezing her fingers hard.

'Then tell me' she pleaded.

He looked over at Weslie, tears in his eyes, watching as her own eyes leaked tears down her face, and she nodded 'tell her' she whispered.

'I tried before didn't I?' he said, his voice cracking.

'Explain what you mean'

'The note, on the first day of term, it was me'

Rachel's face dropped 'You wrote that note? About there being a note in the school, how did you know that?' her voice was slow and quiet, steady, but furious.

'He showed us it' Weslie croaked, urging Paul on.

'Threatened us' Paul said 'told us not to say anything, I was scared! I was scared he'd hurt me. I was scared he'd hurt Wes' he said, looking over at her, she smiled at him through her tears and held onto him tighter.

Mason breathed deeply 'Oh, wait a minute, so Denzel shows you a gun, you must have known the danger in that, to everyone' she was up on her feet, leaning over her table at them, furious 'but you don't say anything? You leave a note, that could be dismissed as a hoax?'

'No miss!' he exclaimed 'it wasn't him, it wasn't Denzel who had the gun, it was Earl'

…

Weslie was exhausted by the time she finally got to sit down on her bed. The day had been excruciatingly long. After Paul had admitted to Mason what they knew, they'd had to go see Denzel's attorney and sign an affidavit, explaining what they had seen that first day of term. Weslie's parent's had been called to give permission for her to go with Mason, and after roasting her over the phone, her father sent the family lawyer to represent her, Paul and Bolton, after he had finally agreed to talk.

Once back at school, they'd seen Chlo and Donte renew their vows, and then let their balloons go as a tribute to Maxine. When she finally got home, she'd endured another roasting from both her parents, who yelled at her for over an hour how disappointed in her they were, and how ashamed they were that they'd raised a child that would act like that, she'd tried to explain how scared she had been to them, but they were too angry with her, and nothing she said was good enough.

She'd expected Bolton to mad at them for telling Mason, but once it was out and it was all over, he too was relieved. Janeece wasn't mad at him, and he and Marley had made up. Though she was still wracked with guilt and grief, Weslie felt lighter than she had done for months, the weight of what Earl had done to his younger brother was finally off her shoulders and she could breathe easily now he was home with his family.


	30. Chapter 30

_I know I said you'd have this yesterday but I ended up going to the cinema to watch the Prince of Persia, its good, go see it. _

_There's a certain line in this that I deliberated over for over an hour, I wasn't sure if I wanted to put it in, I'm pretty sure you can guess which one it is, let me know if you can, and enjoy._

Weslie wasn't feeling well, and she was positively exhausted. She had an awful stomach ache and had barely slept for it. She had been in awful pain when she'd been getting ready for school in the morning and had begged her parent's to leave her home for the day, but they were still angry with her for not telling anyone about the gun earlier, and had taken her to school.

She was still clutching her stomach when she walked into school that morning, the pain having gotten worse since the night before. She took two pain killers before going to find Paul and Bolton, doing her best to pretend nothing was wrong, she definitely wasn't in the mood for them nagging at her.

'Morning Weasel' Bolton said as she approached, he was in his boxing gear in the gym, using the punch bag, she smiled and went to stand beside Paul, who was frowning at her.

'What?' she asked, questioning the look on his face.

'You look pale' he noted.

She smiled and waved his concerns away 'I didn't sleep much last night, that's all' she lied. It wasn't completely untruthful, she didn't sleep well at all, but that wasn't all there was too it. The sharp pain in her lower right abdomen was getting worse when she walked.

'Have you had any breakfast?' he asked, unconvinced.

'No, I haven't, but thanks Mother Theresa' she grumbled, slapping his hand away as he went to feel her forehead. She usually ate breakfast with her family, but was feeling too sick to eat.

'You should get something' he said, rummaging around in his back, in hopes of finding a mars bar or something for her.

'No, I'm fine' she grumbled, feeling irritable.

'Well you don't look it' he said.

'Paul just leave it!' she snapped, walking away.

…

Though she had snapped at him, she had apologised ten minutes later and they were friends again. She explained she was tired and feeling irritable and hadn't meant to snap at him, and they agreed to forget it.

Paul got more and more worried about her as the day wore on, though he didn't let onto her that it was blatantly obvious something was up with her, he knew she didn't take well to people mothering her. But it worried him, and he couldn't help it. He wasn't sure why she was even there, she was obviously ill, he'd never seen her so ill, and she had complained more than once that she felt sick, adding that to the fact she was clutching her stomach every time she walked, there wasn't a person inside Waterloo Road that didn't know she was ill.

'Are you sure you don't want something?' Paul asked for the sixth time during lunch. She said nothing, but shook her head from where it was rested on her arms.

'I'm not hungry' she mumbled.

'You've got to be man, you've not eaten all day' Bolton said, waving a fork full of mashed potato in front of her face. She looked up and grimaced, pushing his hand away. She was tired, the pain in her stomach had eased a little and now she wanted nothing more than to shut her eyes and go to sleep.

'Don't' she groaned 'I feel sick'

Paul exhaled angrily and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, she should have protested, but she didn't have the energy to bother, so she let him 'what is wrong with you?' he exclaimed angrily, knowing full well he wouldn't get an answer 'you're burning up'

'Nothing, I told you I'm fine, just tired' she mumbled, resting her head back on her arms and turning her face away from them, letting her heavy eyelids close.

'Yeah, course you are' Bolton mumbled sarcastically, shooting her a sceptical look.

She scoffed and looked up 'would you two just get off my back please?' she said.

Paul shook his head and leaned closer to her 'No, cause something's up and pretending it isn't won't make it go away'

'I told you' she said, exasperated and sitting up 'It's nothing' she sighed and picked her bag up, getting up from her seat 'I'm going to the loo' she mumbled, hitching her bag up onto her shoulder and walking away.

'She's not alright y'know' Bolton said, as the two of them watched her walking away, clutching her stomach again.

Paul nodded 'I know' he watched her walk out of the door and quickly grabbed his bag, getting up 'I'm going after her' he said, hurrying after here.

'Wait up!' Bolton called, taking off after him. He jogged across the canteen and followed them out into the corridor where Paul had caught up with Weslie; she was saying something to him and holding her bag out, which he took from her.

Bolton's stomach dropped when he saw her stop mid sentence and hit the floor. He'd never seen anything like it, her head fell back, her legs crumbled beneath her and she dropped to floor like a dead weight. Paul dropped to his knees beside her, dumping both their bags on the floor and rolled her over onto her back, shaking her shoulders and calling her name, trying to wake her.

Bolton turned and ran back to the canteen, almost knocking a pair of year 8 girls to the floor in his haste.

'Oi!' Eddie Lawson called, marching over to him, being followed by Kim Campbell, who had recently rejoined the Waterloo Road staff 'watch where you're going Smilie!'

'Sir I need your help' he said hurriedly, ignoring what the deputy head had just said to him 'Weslie's collapsed'

'Where is she?' he asked, already following him out of the canteen.

'Out here Sir' Bolton said, leading them to where Paul was still trying to wake Weslie, he had been joined by Flick Mellor and Marley Kelly, and a small crowd of other students.

'Out of the way Paul' Kim Campbell said, pushing him aside as both she and Eddie knelt beside the unconscious Weslie, who had turned even whiter than she had already been 'Weslie? Weslie can you hear me?' Kim said, loudly and clearly 'I need you to open your eyes now Weslie. She's burning up' she said, alarmed.

'What's wrong with her?' Paul croaked from beside her, looking terrified.

'I don't know' Kim said, looking up at him 'Has she been feeling ill today? I need you to tell me exactly how she's been feeling'

Paul started to panic, his breathing became shallow. He ran his hands through his hair, thinking hard, but his mind was completely blank 'Paul!' she exclaimed.

'Okay, okay!' he said, clearly worked up 'Umm, she said she felt sick and she hasn't eaten all day' he said in a rush.

'Is that everything?' she asked.

'She keeps holding her stomach' Bolton added 'like it's hurting her, and it's worse when she walks'

Kim groaned and looked up 'Flick, Marley, clear the corridor please and make sure no one else comes down here' They both nodded and got to their feet, dispersing the crowd 'Bolton, go get Miss Mason' he nodded too and got to his feet, running in the direction of the head's office, she leaned in close to Eddie and whispered 'Call an ambulance, I think it's her appendix'

'What?' Paul exclaimed, tears in his eyes and his voice rising, his hands were shaking with panic and he was scared 'what does that mean?'

'I don't want you to panic Paul' Kim said to him, though he was watching Eddie who was stood up and on his phone to the emergency services 'it sounds like her appendix has burst, don't worry, we're getting her an ambulance'

'Is she going to be alright?' he asked, picking her hand up from the floor and cradling it in his own, it was burning up.

Kim sighed 'I honestly don't know, but we're going to do everything we can for her, I promise'

'Yeah, Waterloo Road school' he could hear Mr Lawson saying 'quickly please, we think it's her appendix'

Paul turned away and closed his eyes, cradling her hand in his chest and holding it tight, fighting away frightened tears, begging her to be okay. I thousand thoughts swam through his mind. He didn't know much about people with appendicitis, but what he did know was that it had to be caught quickly, and Weslie had been ill for hours. He tried not to think of the worst possible outcome, but it was all he could think of, and he cursed himself for never telling her how he felt about her.

He leaned forward, crouching beside her and brushed her hair away from her ear, leaning in so he could whisper to her 'Weslie' he whispered, his voice shaking 'please be okay, please, you have to be. You can't leave me, I need you Wes' he lost his fight and felt tears running down his nose, dropping onto the floor beside Weslie 'please Wes, I love you'

He looked up as he heard footsteps and saw Bolton was back, with Rachel Mason and Tom Clarkson.

'Oh god' Rachel moaned, leaning down beside Weslie, next to Paul.

'What happened Kim?' she asked, looking up at her, astounded.

She shook her head 'I don't know, she was already like this when I got here'

'She wasn't feeling well' Paul said, looking down at her pale face 'she said she felt sick and wanted to go to the loo, I went with her cause I knew something was up, she said she felt dizzy and asked me to hold her bag, then she just dropped' he screwed his face up, trying not to cry. He could hear sirens in the distance and his heart leapt, help was here.

'How long has she been feeling ill?' Tom asked, he fully trained in first aid.

'I-I don't know' Paul stammered, it was hard to think.

'She said she was feeling ill last night' Bolton said.

Paul didn't like the look on Tom's face and was about to ask if something was wrong, but was interrupted by the arrival of Steph Haydock and two paramedics.

'Come on Paul' Kim said, pulling him away as everyone moved to give the paramedics' time to work.

'What's her name?' One of them asked.

'It's Weslie' Bolton, who was shaking violently, said.

'Weslie? Weslie love can you hear me?' He called, opening her eyelid and trying to get a response 'how long has she been like this?' Kim explained the situation as they took her vitals and checked for signs of response. Whilst Kim was talking, the other paramedic left, taking Tom Clarkson with him.

'Where are they going?' Bolton asked.

'Getting a trolley, we're taking her to the hospital' he said, packing his bag up 'I think you're right Mr Lawson, it sounds like her appendix'

Paul's stomach dropped 'Will she be alright?'

The paramedic looked up at him with solemn eyes as his colleague and Tom returned 'I honestly don't know son, she should've been taken to hospital sooner, all we can do now is hope the surgeons can get it out before any more damage is done' he said, helping the other paramedic lift her onto the cart.

'Surgeons?' Paul exclaimed.

They gave him another grave looked before starting to wheel here away. Paul felt an awful pain of dread in his chest as he watched her be taken out of sight and couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever see her again.

'Tom would you go with them please?' Rachel asked. He nodded once and took off after the paramedics.

Paul was barely aware of Kim Campbell taking him by the shoulders and leading him away, mumbling 'Come on Paul, let's go get you some water'

…

The rest of the day was agonisingly slow for the boys. They spent the rest of their lunch break and the first lesson of the afternoon in the cooler with Kim Campbell, who tried to assure the boys that she'd been okay, and swore she would tell them the second they heard anything from her parents.

They went back out for the final lesson of the day and had to endure the questions of their classmates, who wanted to know what had happened. They didn't even need to tell them, the students who had seen what had happened had made sure the whole school had known in minutes. Neither of them could concentrate during the lessons, and only gained any sense of calm when Eddie Lawson interrupted.

'Can I have a word with Paul and Bolton please Mr Budgen?' The boys looked at each other wearing identical worried expressions as they followed him outside.

'Weslie's sister just called to let us know what's going on' He said, seriously.

'Is she okay?' Paul asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

Eddie smiled 'She's fine boys, it was her appendix, she was lucky, it hadn't burst and it's been taken out and she's in recovery' Paul sighed a huge breath of relief and covered his face with his hands, laughing he was so happy 'her parent's have said the two of you can go a visit her as soon as school is over if you'd like'

'Yeah, we're defo going, aren't we Langers?' Bolton said, beaming.

'Yeah, definitely, thanks sir' Paul said.

Rachel Mason drove them to the hospital after their last lesson, stopping off at a florist so she could buy her some flowers from the staff and the boys could buy her some too.

Paul felt his heart skip a beat when they turned into her room and he saw her. She was lying in a hospital gown on a hospital bed, with a tube running across her cheeks and under her nose, proving her with oxygen. She had a drip in her arm and her eyes were closed. Her sister was stood beside her.

'Hey boys' she said, looking up at them and smiling.

Weslie opened her eyes when she heard her sister talk, and smiled weakly at her friends, who rushed to her side 'Afternoon' she said weakly.

'Hey' Paul said, stroking her hair gently, which had been pushed back away from her face 'how're you feeling?'

'Tired' she smiled 'but better'

'Do you remember what happened mate?' Bolton asked as her sister walked out to join her parent's, Tom Clarkson and Rachel who were all talking just outside the door.

She shook her head 'I remember giving you my bag' she nodded towards Paul 'then I woke up here'

'You didn't half scare us Wes' Paul said. She smiled and held her hand up for him, which he took with his other hand and held onto tightly, never wanting to ever let her go again.

'Sorry boys' she muttered.

'You will be' Paul warned her, narrowing his eyes.

She smiled and laughed weakly, then deciding against it and stopping, her hand on her stomach 'you brought me some flowers eh?' she said, nodding towards the ridiculously big bunch of flowers Bolton was holding. He smiled and held them out for her to look at 'they're gorgeous, thanks boys'

'No problem at all' Paul said, smiling and watching Bolton putting them into an empty vase, she already had three filled with flowers.

'Oh you're awake' Rachel Mason said, smiling from the door way 'you gave us quite a scare back there' she said.

Weslie smiled again 'Sorry Miss Mason'

Rachel shook her head, still smiling 'Oh don't worry about it, we're just glad you're okay'

'I'm good, thanks to Paul' she said, smiling at him.

'Ah yes' Rachel smiled 'if he hadn't followed you it could've been god knows how long until someone found you, well done Paul' she said.

He blushed and mumbled something looking down at Weslie, who smiled at him and winked.


	31. Chapter 31

_I'm very, very, very excited to write this next chapter, and I know you're going to absolutely love, I'm going to try my hardest to get it to you tonight, so when you do get it, I think I deserve at least a million reviews =] I also forgot to mention, last chapter was our [hopefully] half way point, I'm aiming to have this wrapped up in 60, which will easily make it the longest story I've ever written, it's already the longest I've ever done and we're just half way through, so thanks for sticking with me this long, and please, please don't lose patience with me.  
_

Weslie was kept in hospital overnight, and then returned home the following day. She was feeling sore, but otherwise felt fine. She had been operated on laprascopically, which meant she had three tiny cuts on her stomach, which were healing and likely to scar. Paul and Bolton had come to see her again once she was back home, bringing her DVD's and boxes of chocolates, which they ever so kindly helped her eat.

She only stayed at home for a week before returning to school. Her doctor had recommend she spend at least two weeks at home, as she had a 4 to 6 week recovery period. She was surprised at how bored she was at home, her mother had only been able to take two days off to stay with her, and after she went back to work, Weslie was home alone with the dog, and no matter how much she flicked through endless satellite television channels, she never could find anything worth watching.

So she decided she was going back to Waterloo Road, and surprised even Paul and Bolton when she turned up there one morning.

'What are you doing here?' Paul exclaimed, running across the playground to meet her, she was walking but was still a little tender, and gratefully accepted his arm as support.

'In case you forgot, I go here too Paul' she said, smiling.

He rolled his eyes 'Oh really, I never noticed' he said dryly, looking at her with a stony expression 'you know what I mean, you're supposed to be at home'

She shook her head and waved her hand, waving his argument away 'Oh I'm fine, it's actually really boring being stuck at home' she said.

Paul sniggered 'That and you missed me' he said cockily.

She laughed 'Always'

They went inside and to the gym, to find Bolton, where he was training with Cleaver. Today was the day of his big match, his fight for the UK championship, he had been training for weeks and the day was finally here. They knew he'd be feeling nervous, so his friends went to see him.

'Hello stranger' Weslie said as Paul was holding the door open for her.

Bolton looked up and smiled, skipping over to give her a gentle hug 'No way man' he beamed 'I thought you were off til next term?'

She gave him a look of disbelief 'what? And miss your big fight? Not a chance'

He beamed again as Rob Cleaver emerged from the small office at the back of the gym 'thanks Wes' he mumbled, before going back to his trainer.

Mr Cleaver, who usually didn't take too kindly to Paul and Weslie interrupting Bolton's training, looked up at them and actually smiled 'Weslie, it's good to see you, glad you're okay' he said with a smile. Weslie frowned, confused but smiled none the less.

'Err, thanks Mr Cleaver' she said, still confused by his kindness, especially today of all days.

'How are you feeling?' he asked her.

'Umm, sore, but good'

Cleaver smiled 'Well I'm not surprised, you were operated on just over a week ago' he laughed, then threw a bottle of water to her, which she caught 'here, keep yourself hydrated'

'Thanks sir' she said, stowing it away in her bag, very surprised by his act of kindness.

'No problem, and take it easy, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be up on your feet so much so soon' he smirked, making her blush, she knew he was right.

Most of the staff were the same as Cleaver towards her all day. None of them were happy she was back in school so early, but went out of their way to keep their eyes on her. Though they were only in school for the morning's lesson as they would be leaving for Bolton's match just after lunch, she still found it utterly irritating that she couldn't move without being watched. She thought Paul mothering her was bad enough, but the teachers were a thousand times worse.

One thing she did like was the reaction of her friends when she came back. Some of them had come to see her, Chlo and Donte had brought her flowers and Flick and Marley had visited too. But most hadn't seen her since the day she passed out, and were surprised to see her back so soon.

Lunch couldn't arrive soon enough, and eventually it did arrive and they were ready to go see Bolton fight. Weslie was originally set to be one of his cheerleaders, but since she was still sore from her surgery she couldn't do it, and would instead be sitting in the crowd with Paul.

'Sure all this excitement isn't going to be too much for you?' Paul asked, helping her onto the coach.

'Oh har har' she said sarcastically, getting into a seat near the front, Paul dropped into the seat beside her 'I'm not at risk of a heart attack you know, I think I'll live'

'I know you're fine' he said, crossing his arms over his chest 'cause you just keep going on, and on, and on, and on about it' he said, sighing and rolling his eyes.

She gasped and laughed, punching him in the arm exclaiming; 'you're the one who keeps bringing it up!'

He frowned 'that's a complete lie'

She groaned and shook her head 'I beg to differ Langley, it's all you've been banging on about all day 'don't push yourself to hard, have a sit down, make sure you've had enough water' ' she said, imitating him.

He raised an eyebrow and gave her a sceptical look 'see, can't keep yer trap shut' he said, miming a mouth shutting with his hand.

She crossed her arms over her chest 'have I ever mentioned I hate you?'

He smiled and slipped an arm around her shoulders, despite what she had just said, she leaned forwards, giving him room to put his arm around her 'No you don't' he said confidently. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

…

The venue for Bolton's match couldn't have differed anymore than the venue of his underground fight. His first fight had been in a disused factory where the ring had been made up of tape, where as this place was all completely above board and the ring was an actual boxing ring. Bolton had his own dressing room and a huge bank of seats had been put up around the ring.

'Nice place' Weslie noted as she got off the coach, being helped down by Donte Charles, who had gotten off before her.

'Very posh' Paul said, getting off the coach after her and offering her his arm. She took it again; her doctor had recommended she only walk for a few times a few times a day for the first few weeks, so he was making sure she wasn't over doing it.

'Come on everybody, inside please, and lets not make too much noise' Rachel Mason was saying, ushering her pupils inside.

Paul and Weslie slowly followed everyone else inside and found themselves seats by the ring. There was already an excited atmosphere. Pupils from Waterloo Road had brought banners and were already cheering for Bolton, just as the other boy had people cheering for him too.

The cheerleaders were all sat together on a bench near the ring and Weslie could see Janeece, whose jacket had her name on the back of it. The seats were filling quickly with Waterloo Road students and staff, along with the other boys supporters, and soon enough the room was full and eagerly anticipating the match.

The Waterloo Road crowd went wild when Bolton walked out, screaming his name, clapping their hands and chanting. It was the same for the other boy, then they both stepped into the ring.

The crowd were loud, insane even as the two boys fought, each person cheering their fighter on. The cheerleaders were on their feet at ring side as Bolton fought. They danced and cheered. The noise in the room was deafening, but Bolton couldn't hear any of it.

He blocked it all out; he was entirely focused on his opponent. He kept his eye on him at all times, concentrating on anticipating his next move, at the same time as planning his own. He dodged easily away from a fist and threw his own out whilst the boy was open, landing it perfectly in his gut.

He kept his breathing steady and calmed himself down every time the bell rang at the end of the round, listening to Cleaver muttering instructions in his ear. He went back out, bouncing on the balls of his feet once again, keeping his guard up and his mind clear. Paul and Weslie were thrown into panic when they watched him get himself backed into a corner, fearing the worst.

'MOVE YOUR FEET BOLTON!' Weslie screamed, up on her feet and clinging to Paul's elbow to hard her knuckles had gone white. Paul was also on his feet beside her 'MOVE YOUR FEET!' she bellowed.

Weslie's words snapped him out of a daze and he moved, dodging out of the way and coming up behind his opponent in the middle of the ring, the other boy span around, but it was too late, Bolton Smilie threw a punch, hitting the boy square in the face and sending him crashing down to the floor.

The Waterloo Road crowd were up on their feet, screaming louder than ever for Bolton Smilie, who had won his first professional match.

…

Though Bolton had won, the day hadn't gone as smoothly as everyone would have liked. It had come out that Rob Cleaver had been giving him pills that would help him focus, and the matter needed to be dealt with, there was to be a full investigation and Bolton had to submit a urine sample.

Everyone thought Bolton would be absolutely crushed, but no one, not even Paul, Weslie or Janeece could've predicted that he wouldn't care. He had loved the training, but had decided boxing was not for him. It had occurred to him that he wanted no part in that world when he saw the paramedics putting the other boy onto a stretcher in a next brace. Bolton had felt disgusted with himself, and decided that moment he would never box again.

As a result of the pills, Rob Cleaver had been sacked and his relationship with Jasmine Koreshi had come to an end. Paul didn't like to admit it, but he was both glad and unhappy about the end of Bolton's boxing career, he was happy he would get to see his friend more, but would also miss all the extra time alone he was getting with Weslie.


	32. Chapter 32

_I'm not going to prattle on, cause a lot of you have been waiting a long time for this. So here it is =] you can thank me in reviews._

'_I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord  
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord'_

Weslie was feeling a lot better by the time next term rolled around, and after just a few weeks back in school she was feeling good as new and was back to being herself. Paul still hadn't admitted to her what he told her when she passed out, and although Kim Campbell had heard him, she hadn't spoke to him about it. She had certainly considered it, but decided it was best to leave it alone.

Whilst Weslie had been recovering, other things had been going on at Waterloo Road. Chlo Granger was slowly getting bigger, the school had been invaded by a small group of travellers' and Janeece Bryant had taken time off for a boob job, which was something Bolton was very happy about.

Weslie had always liked Janeece, but on her first day back after the cosmetic surgery, Weslie couldn't help but dislike her.

She Paul and Bolton were stood outside the hall when she came in through the doors and stood with her arms out at the metal detectors, showing off her vastly different chest. They were obviously bigger and she was making sure everybody knew it. Every pair of eyes around her were drawn to them and not only did she know it, she loved it.

She marched through once she was cleared and right to Bolton and Paul, who were both walking towards her, wide eyed and impressed.

'Hiya babes' she said, strutting over to Bolton.

'What do you think?' Bolton asked Paul, who was obviously looking down her half open shirt 'isn't she hot?'

Janeece looked at Paul, not caring that he was looking down her shirt 'What? Err, I mean, hot yeah, definitely hot' he said, still staring at her breasts. Weslie felt a horrible pang of jealousy in her chest and looked away, feeling hurt. Suddenly, she didn't want to be around Paul anymore.

Whilst Bolton and Janeece were talking about her new breasts, Weslie busied herself with her phone, texting her sister and refusing to look at Paul. She looked up and saw Janeece letting Bolton look down her shirt, she saw Paul leaning in, trying to look. She felt that same pang in her chest and stuffed her phone into her pocket, deciding she'd seen enough and walking away.

…

She didn't see Paul again until their second lesson of the day, when he finally caught up with her in Grantly Budgen's class. She tried not to look at him as he slid into the seat beside her and pulled out his copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

'Where did you go this morning?' he whispered to her, trying not to alert Budgen.

'Nowhere' she muttered.

He frowned and pushed his book aside, leaning closer to her 'you obviously went somewhere, one minute you were there, next you were gone' he said, perplexed.

'I felt sick, so I went to the toilet, it's not a crime is it?' she said, still not looking at her.

Paul looked down, confused as to why she was being like that at him, he looked at her stomach 'is it that?' he asked, reaching out to touch her stomach.

She jumped back from like she had been electrocuted and slapped his hand away 'don't touch me!' she hissed, covering her stomach with her own hands.

He backed away and looked up at her 'what is with you Wes?' he whispered.

She looked up at him but said nothing. It was then that she noticed water drip from the roof onto the open book in front of Paul. He saw it too; they both looked at each other then up at the roof, where there was a wet patch above them. They looked down again as more water fell down onto the page, Paul raised his hand 'Sir?'

Mr Budgen didn't have a chance to answer as the roof fell in and Paul was showered in water, some of it splashing off him, catching Weslie. Paul was up on his feet, as were the rest of the class and Budgen.

'Look at the state of me!' Paul snapped 'this jacket were a fortune!'

'Well uhh, don't just stand there lad, take it off!' Grantly said.

'I'm soaked sir, look at my hair!' Weslie moaned, holding up the end of her wet ponytail, stopping it from soaking the back of her shirt and top of her skirt, where the tip of it was just an inch away when it was wet.

'My trousers are soaked, and my feet!' Paul said furiously.

'Alright, alright settle down it's not like someone's died' Grantly called, settling the class.

'Is it the water tank sir?' one boy asked.

'No, if it were there'd be a lot more water' Grantly said, looking up at the hole above Paul's head 'Oh I don't believe it, they've only taken the lead of the flaming roof'

'What are you talking about?' The traveller boy on the other side of the room asked.

Grantly scoffed and turned to look at him 'I bet your parents are no strangers to the scrap metal yard' he laughed. He pointed to one of the other boys 'You, go to the caretakers office and get some mops and buckets, and you two get some dry clothes!'

Paul and Weslie gathered their things and left.

'This is ridiculous' Weslie spat, once they were out in the corridor, taking her jacket off, her shirt was soaked, almost see through, but she was too concerned with her hair to care all that much.

'Is is them? The travellers? Stealing the lead?' Paul asked.

She laughed bitterly 'probably, selling it on for petty cash instead of getting real jobs!'

…

Weslie was in a worse mood that afternoon. She was still upset with Paul and hurt by him, but still wasn't letting on, and to add to that, she'd had to ring to sister to bring her a dry skirt and shirt in from home, as she didn't have any of her P.E kit with her. She'd spent almost forty minutes drying her hair under one of the hand dryers in the bathroom, and had to tie it all back in a bun as she didn't have anything to straighten it with.

Paul was also in a foul mood, blaming the travellers for what had happened to him and Weslie and unable to understand why she was being off with him. She had obviously denied it, but he knew her better than that, and though no one knew, she was the main reason he was feeling as irritable as he was.

When she next ran into him, towards the end of their lunch out, he was in such a terrible mood, she momentarily forgot that she was angry with him and went to find out what was wrong.

'Paul?' she called, jogging to catch up with him 'what's up with you?' she asked once he stopped and waited for her.

'Them! The travellers, they're thieving skags!' he snapped.

She nodded 'Yeah, I know, but what've they done this time?'

'They've only gone and stole my phone haven't they?' he snapped.

Weslie laughed 'Stole your phone?'

He nodded 'Yeah and it's not funny. I had it before, now it's gone' he was fuming.

She rolled her eyes and put her hand into her pocket 'That's because I've got it' she said, pulling it out of her pocket and holding it out for him. He looked up at her and snatched it out of her hand. She looked at him frowning, taken aback and took a step away from him, she didn't like the way he had snatched it from her.

'You had it? When did you take it?' he said viciously.

She felt a stab of pain 'I picked it up when the roof fell in, it was on the desk' she said calmly.

He grunted with frustration and took a threatening step towards here 'and you didn't think to tell me? What are you, stupid or something?'

She frowned and shoved him back, she didn't like him being up in her face and wearing that expression at all, and if he though he could intimidate her, he was very wrong 'because I was busy drying myself out! You're not the only one who got soaked in case you didn't notice' she spat back at him.

'Well I am sorry, but it's alright for you isn't it? Mummy and Daddy can just buy you nice new expensive designer clothes if yours are ruined, nothing to worry about' he said, mocking her.

'Don't you dare bring my parents into this!' she snapped 'and don't call me stupid! I'm sorry not every girl is like Janeece, with big massive tits to distract you from everything else!' she yelled, feeling her tempter rise and letting out her frustrations with him that had been building since that morning.

'What does she have to do with any of this?' he snapped, astounded.

'Nothing, absolutely nothing at all!' she screamed 'but maybe if you hadn't been too busy ogling her damn tits you'd be able to keep a better eye on your things!'

Paul stepped forwards and grabbed her by the wrist, squeezing her hard 'You're being pathetic' he said.

'Well I'm sorry I'm not enough of a bimbo for you' she spat, pulling her wrist out of his grip and backing away.

'Grow up!' he shouted at her, watching her walking away.

She span around to face him 'fuck you Paul' she said, then turned to walk away again, leaving alone and seething.

…

Paul's anger had completely evaporated by the time he arrived for their next lesson. He sat down beside Bolton and buried his face in his hands. He had been thinking about her ever since their argument, and was waiting for her to arrive so he could tell her how sorry he was, he hadn't meant of a word of it, and he wanted her to know so. He didn't think she was stupid, or pathetic, nor did he think she needed to grow up. He thought she was the most beautiful, clever, funny, inspiring person he had ever met, but he was just too much of a coward to tell her.

'What's up with you man?' Bolton asked, noticing he was not himself.

He shook his head, which was still hidden by his hands 'I had a fight with Wes' he mumbled into his fingers.

'What about?'

He sighed and looked up, running his hands through his hair 'I thought the travellers had my phone, but Wes had it, and I snapped her and said some really, really horrible things. I feel awful mate' he groaned, close to hating himself.

Bolton shook his head 'You're an idiot Langers' he said, clapping him on the back.

Paul looked up at him 'Don't worry, I already know'

'What're you gonna do about it then? This situation with Wes?'

He sighed again, deeply 'there's nothing I can do, she's not gonna speak to me now'

Bolton clapped him on the shoulder 'don't be stupid man, why wouldn't she?'

Paul looked up at him 'I was a prick with her, I called her stupid, and pathetic and told her to grow up' he grunted and hide his face in his hands again 'I'm a dick'

'Why'd you do that?' his friend asked.

'I was angry' he muttered 'I was wound up over the travellers, I shouldn't have snapped at her'

'Then go tell her this then' Bolton said, stating the obvious.

'She's not going to listen to me Bolton, she's really, really angry at me' he groaned.

Bolton exhaled and shifted around in his seat to face Paul 'Look Paul, we both know you're like crazy about her right?' Paul looked up at him, he had no idea Bolton knew how he felt about her.

'What? I-I, I er-'

Bolton cut him off 'Course you are, so go and tell her. Cause if you don't do it soon, someone else is going to get in there mate, and you definitely don't want to see that'

Paul swallowed hard 'I can't, what if she rejects me?' he whispered.

Bolton sighed and picked Pauls bag up, putting it onto his shoulder for him and pulling him to his feet whilst Steph Haydock was distracted and steered him to the front of the room, ignoring Pauls whispered protests.

'She won't, so go get 'er tiger!' Bolton smirked, shoving him out of the door.

Paul felt sick and hesitated a moment before setting off to look for her. He checked the library and a dozen or so empty classrooms, but couldn't find her; he even looked in the pastoral care office and the changing rooms. He had known she would probably be in the toilets but didn't really want to go there, and had hoped he would find her somewhere else.

He sighed and manned up, heading for the toilets closest to where they had fought.

He pushed the door open lightly and looked around the door 'Wes? You in here?'

'No' he heard her say quietly.

He sighed sadly and walked in. She was stood facing away from him, but he could see her in the mirror. She was stood with her shirt open and tears on her cheeks, looking at the three tiny scars from her operation. She looked up at his reflection and covered herself, turning away and walking towards the sink, hiding her face from him as she wiped her tears away.

'I'm sorry' he whispered, walking around to face her, his back now to the mirror.

She shook her head, but didn't look up at him, avoiding his eye she looked down at his feet.

He watched her for a moment, noticing the way her hand was hovering over the scars on her stomach. After a moment, he took a brave step forward and brushed her hand aside. She moved her hand back, but he brushed it aside again and this time she kept it out of the way, he pushed her shirt out of the way and very softly pressed his finger tips to one of the tiny cuts.

'Is is them? Is that why you're so upset. Do you think you're not attractive now?'

She looked up at him, teary eyed and nodded 'Yes' she croaked, ashamed of how much her voice was shaking 'They've ruined me' she sobbed, bringing an arm up to hide her face.

'Oh Wes you couldn't be more wrong' he said, pulling her arm away from her beautiful face, still stunning despite it being tear stained. He took a deep breath and ignored the awful sick feeling in his stomach 'You have no idea how beautiful you are Weslie' he whispered 'Everyone here loves you, you're smart and pretty and funny'

He swallowed hard and dropped his hand down to her hip 'I only come here every day to see you' he whispered. He took a step closer, his face barely an inch from hers and placed his other hand on her hip, her arms went to his, just above the elbows and she looked up at him, lost in his deep blue eyes 'I'm crazy about you' he whispered.

Paul leaned in and softly pressed his mouth against hers, parting his lips ever so slightly to kiss her. He tightened his grip on her hips and felt her slide her hands up to his shoulders as he leaned further into the kiss when she kissed him back and kissed her a little deeper, but still very gently.

She was nothing like he had ever imagined she would be. He had thought about what it would like to kiss her hundreds of times, but nothing compared to doing it. She was warm and ever so soft, his lips felt like heaven against his and the feel of her body pressed against his was so perfect he felt as though his heart may overflow.

After a short while he pulled away, but kept close to her, his face mere centimetres from hers and looked down at her, smiling and playing with her hair 'you're beautiful Wes' he whispered.

She smiled 'So are you'


	33. Chapter 33

_Thank you for your reviews of the last chapter, they were awesome and I obviously I have very intelligent readers. Someone said something very significant in their review, I'm sure you can work out who it was and what they said, but I'll explain all about that at a later date._

_I understand you waited a long time for that kiss, and I can't thank you enough for your patience and I hope you think it was worth the wait. But as you know, I've had this whole story planned out since chapter one, and there was no way I was going to rush it, I wanted this story to be a long one, I usually get into things that like very early in my stories and I wanted to do something different this time around, so thanks for sticking with me, it's been pretty frustrating for me at times, writing something this long is a real challenge for me, so again, thank you so much for your patience._

_Anyway, enough rambling, here's your chapter, enjoy and thanks for being so awesome =]_

Paul had had what was probably both the best and the strangest week of his life. He had never felt better then he had after he and Weslie had kissed, and was utterly relieved they had made up. They had kissed again whilst they were still in the toilets before leaving together, hand in hand.

But Paul couldn't have predicted how quickly things would change after they had kissed just twice. Now he knew how she felt, he couldn't keep his hands to himself, and much to his delight, she couldn't keep hers to herself either. He had gone home with her that afternoon after their first kiss, and she found that as soon as she had shut her bedroom door behind them, Paul pinned her up against it and kissed her hard, gripping her hips tightly and even daring to slip his tongue into her open mouth.

Even he was surprised at his daring, but neither complained about it, and now that she obviously didn't have any problem with him kissing her, he didn't want to miss any opportunity to do so.

The next week was much of the same, they didn't tell anyone about it, but every time they found themselves alone, they ended up kissing, and it didn't matter where they were. They had kissed in Weslie's kitchen, outside Bolton's house and even in the school changing rooms.

Bolton knew what was going it, you had to be pretty blind not to notice, but he didn't let on to either of them that he knew. He suspected Paul did, as it was him to had made Paul go looking for her that day, but he didn't want to bring it up until they were ready to tell him they had something going on, whatever it was that they had, that is.

Though Paul had thoroughly enjoyed his week with Weslie, even staying over at her house on Saturday night, when they had experimented sexually a little further with each other, he was starting to feel confused. They hadn't really spoken about what it was between them, and as much as he didn't want to ruin anything, he needed to know where he stood.

He had been meaning to speak to her about it for days, and was getting very good at working himself up to do so, but as soon as he saw her, all that confidence went out of the window.

So when she slid into the seat beside him on a Thursday morning, as usual he choked.

'Morning gorgeous' he smiled, giving her a sly peck on the cheek.

'Good morning' she said, slipping her hand into his and dropping her legs across his lap, where he took hold of them behind the knees and pulled them further up onto his lap 'are you okay?' she asked, frowning 'you look agitated'

He gave her a wide smile 'I'm fine' he assured her 'just tired, I was up all night texting a gorgeous girl you see' he smirked, winking at her.

She laughed and squeezed his fingers 'Oh really? What's she like?' she asked, playing dumb.

'She's alright I guess' he sighed, looking at her from the corner of his eye, a smirk on his lips.

'Oi!' she exclaimed, slapping him on the arm. He laughed and cowered away from her as she went for him several times more.

'You know I'm just kidding!' he laughed once she was done and sat back in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest and a pout on her face 'You know I think you're amazing'

She looked at him sceptically 'and?'

'And you're the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen' he said, smiling his adorable smile he knew worked on her every time. 'Wes, can I ask you something?' he added in a very quiet voice that she didn't like.

'Of course you can, what is it?' she asked, leaning forwards.

'Do you like me? Like actually like me?' he mumbled, looking down at his hands.

She exhaled and shook her head 'You've known me long enough Paul, I wouldn't let things have gone this far if I didn't' she assured him 'Plus, I wouldn't have let you touch me on Saturday if I didn't' she smirked, her hand on the top of his thigh, gently massaging in a very suggestive manner.

He looked up at her, wearing a devilish smirk, knowing they had shared something completely secret and intimate 'Saturday was fun too' he said quietly.

She smirked again and felt her cheeks blush lightly 'I know, we'll have to do it again sometime' she winked.

….

In all the time he had known Weslie, Paul had always thought she was beautiful. He had thought so the first time he had ever seen her. It was her first day at Waterloo Road and she had come into their lesson half way through, the terrified looking new girl.

When he first saw her he was struck by how beautiful she was, here skin was perfectly clear and beautifully white, her long, long black hair a striking contrast to her face, which was complimented by bright green eyes and perfectly shaped plump lips.

He had always been eternally thankful that they had become friends and he'd had the opportunity to get to know her better and spend so much time with her. But one thing he didn't like about being friends with her was noticing just how much attention she got from other males. As he was fully aware, she was frightfully pretty, and it seemed he wasn't the only one who noticed.

It had always bothered him, but it was now bothering him more than ever because there was something between them and he didn't know what it was. It occurred to him that they weren't together, and there was nothing stopping her from completely forgetting about Paul and getting with someone else, and that was a thought that terrified him.

So as he walked out into the main entrance and saw her stood with Janeece and Chlo, he couldn't help but notice a group of passing sixth form boys looking at her. It was barely a spilt second before he decided what he was doing, and without considering the consequences of his actions, he had marched over to her and cut her off mid sentence by pulling her into a fierce kiss.

She didn't object, her hand coming up to rest on the back of his head and her eyes closing, loving the way he kissed her more than she could explain. She ignored the shocked gasps around her and concentrated on Paul, though she could Janeece and Chlo egging them on.

She looked up at him breathlessly when they broke apart, a huge smile on her face 'I need to talk to you alone' he said quietly, also slightly out of breath.

She nodded 'Okay, let's go' she said, still smiling. He took her by the hand and started to lead her away, she looked back at Chlo and Janeece who were both watching her with shocked looks on their faces, obviously waiting to burst into excited conversation as soon as she was out of sight.

Paul led her outside and around the back of the building, where there were less people around and they could talk without running the risk of being over heard. Her heart was hammering against her chest as he stopped and turned to face her, the kiss had caught her completely off guard, but she had liked it a lot and wanted more. She sat down on a bench, Paul remained standing.

Paul swallowed hard 'I need to know what this is' he said bluntly, his hands shaking with nerves, this was the moment the truth.

'What do you mean?' she asked, confused.

'This' he said gesturing to the both of them 'us, I need to know what it is'

She watched him for a moment as he paced, obviously going over it all in his head 'what do you want it be?' she asked.

He looked up at her 'I've had the best week of my life with you Wes, but you know I'm insane about you, I don't want it to end' he breathed deeply 'I don't know how you feel about me, but if you're not serious about this, please end it now'

She smirked and got up, walking over to him and taking his hands 'I know how much you care about me Paul, and I wanted you to listen to me right now' she shook his hands, making him look directly at her 'I feel the same' she said firmly, keeping eye contact and making sure he completely understood 'Now, what do you want this to be?' she repeated.

He swallowed and licked his lips 'I want you to be my girlfriend' he said in a barely audible whisper.

She smirked 'Then ask me'

A small smile appeared on his lips 'will you be my girlfriend?'

She bit her lip and looked down for a spilt second trying desperately not to grin like an idiot. She looked back up at him 'of course I will'


	34. Chapter 34

_Have I ever mentioned I love my readers? Well, I do. _

_I forgot to mention last chapter [I'm good at forgetting to mention things, I'll blame it on all the hard work I put into these chapters for you] Anyway, as I was saying, I love my readers. It made my day when I read my reviews of chapter 32 and LaPush'sSheWolf said '& I dont know why, but whenever i watch waterloo road now, i imagine Wesley to be in it.' _

_That made my day, and it makes all the hard work and the stressing and the planning worth it, so thank you =] _

Being with Weslie was something Paul had always wanted, but never actually expected would happen. But when it finally did, it took a few days before it actually sunk in and he got used to it. He was walking around like he had the entire world in his hands, like a man who had everything he could ever want, and as far as he was concerned, that was true. He'd had feelings for Weslie for a long time, maybe even since they had met, and as time had progressed and he had gotten to know her better and they grew closer and closer, his feelings had developed until he wasn't sure what he had done with himself before he met her.

They told Bolton pretty much as soon as Paul asked her out, though he already knew they had kissed. As soon as the two of them had disappeared out of sight Janeece was straight on her phone to him and within minutes most of years 11 and 12 knew what had happened. Bolton didn't say much about it, it was a strange concept for him to get used to, despite that he had always known Paul had a thing for her, he just didn't think it would ever go that far. Not that he didn't think Weslie felt the same; he just didn't think either would ever make the first move.

The fact of the matter was, Paul was desperately in love with her. He hadn't told her that, he'd told her he had deep feelings for her, but he hadn't dared to mention the L word. He was ecstatic that she was finally his, but the last thing he wanted to do was mention that to her and scare her away.

They had also told her parent's and Paul's guardian. Paul's guardian was a middle aged friendly blond woman who had been fostering for years, her name was Alison and she was extremely fond of Paul. She was the only person Paul had ever confided his feelings for Weslie in and was almost as excited as him when he told her they were together. Weslie's parents weren't quite as enthusiastic, her mother was, as was her sister and older brother when he found out, but her father certainly wasn't.

Weslie was sixteen, just a few months off seventeen and Paul had been sixteen for a few months. Her father had been sixteen once, and he remembered it perfectly well, and he knew what all sixteen year old boys wanted and the lengths they would go to get it, and he didn't like the idea of Paul getting it from his little girl. He didn't like to admit it, but he knew it would happen sooner or later, if it hadn't already happened.

What Weslie wasn't going to tell either of her parents, but what her sister had already worked out, was that it already had happened, she and Paul had already slept together. She had wanted to wait a while, but found it was hard to resist him, and just three weeks into their relationship, when they had Paul's house to themselves, the inevitable happened and they had sex in his bed. Initially Weslie felt bad she hadn't waited longer, but when she thought about it, she was glad she had slept with him and didn't matter when, it only mattered that it had been with him.

…

It was the morning after the first time they slept together and Weslie was still smiling because of it, a happy bubble inflated in her chest as they walked in through the gates together. Paul was walking behind her, his arms around her middle, whispering suggestive idea's into her ear.

She was giggling 'Behave Paul!' she hissed.

'I can't help myself' he said, squeezing her, his head on her shoulder.

'Well you have to' she said defiantly.

'Put her down man!' Bolton called, catching up with them 'You don't know where she's been' he said, smirking and dodging out of the way of Weslie's foot as she flung it out to kick him.

Paul laughed 'I know exactly where she's been mate' he said, winking at him.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, dislodging herself from Paul, turning round to face him 'I'm going to leave you two to be pigs together' she said, kissing Paul briefly on the lips 'I'll see you later' she smiled, walking away. The boys called their goodbyes after her.

'You know exactly where she's been?' Bolton asked. Paul said nothing, but merely nodded with a smug smile on his face. Bolton urged him on, but he said nothing, wearing the same self satisfied expression. Bolton's jaw dropped and then he smirked when realisation hit him 'you've slept with her haven't you?'

Paul nodded 'Last night'

Bolton smirked and did an excited sort of giggle that sounded very strange coming from him 'And? How was she?'

It was Paul's turn to smirk and he looked away, avoiding Bolton's eye 'She was fantastic'

Bolton stopped walking and held his arm out to stop Paul. Paul looked back at him, confused 'I just want you to know, that this, you and Wes, I'm cool with it, and I'm happy for you mate, I know you wanted this for ages'

Paul smiled sincerely 'Cheers pal'

…

Inside the school, Weslie was pushing the door to the girls toilets open. She slowed down when she could hear sobbing, and walked in slowly.

'Hello?' she called 'are you okay?'

She came round the corner and found it was Chlo, alone in the toilets and wiping her face, trying to pretend she hadn't been crying 'Chlo? Chlo what's up?'

She shook her head and tried not to sob again, covering her eyes with her hand 'I can't do this' she sobbed.

Weslie walked in and took her by the arms 'can't do what? Is it the baby? Are you feeling ill?'

She shook her head again and walked into one of the cubicles, sitting down on the closed toilet and hiding her face in her hands. She looked tired and stressed, she was quite heavily pregnant and Weslie couldn't imagine being so was very easy on her 'No, no it's not the baby, well, it is, but I feel fine' she said to keep Weslie from panicking.

She started to sob again 'I don't want this baby Wes' she cried.

Weslie felt her stomach drop 'Y-you don't want it?'

Chlo looked up and shook her had 'I'm not ready for it, I can't be a mother, I'd be terrible'

Weslie, who had been crouched in front of her, got up on her knees 'Oh no, Chlo you'd be an incredible mother, I know it'

She shook her head again 'It's not just that' she sobbed 'what about my mum? She'd be so ashamed of me, and all I always wanted to make her proud' she sobbed again and Weslie passed her a tissue from inside her bag 'I've let her down, and I've let Tom down and now I'm letting Donte down'

Weslie squeezed her hand 'You're not letting anyone down Chlo, I swear it'

Chlo shook her head again 'Yes I am, I know I am' she started sobbing again 'I told Donte I didn't want the baby, and he broke up with me' she said, sobbing harder than ever. Weslie go up and pulled Chlo into a hug, letting her cry on her shoulder.

'Then that's his mistake Chlo, but you need to do what's best for you' Weslie whispered.

Chlo pulled away and nodded 'I know. I don't want to lose Donte, but I don't want this baby' she whispered.

'Maybe he just needs time to get used to the idea first' Weslie suggested.

Chlo took a deep breath and a moment to calm herself down as the bell for first lesson rang and the girls got up, Weslie picking up Chlo's bag for her. The girls walked out together after Chlo wiped her face 'I hope so' she mumbled 'I just feel so conflicted, I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to keep it for Donte, but the rest of me doesn't want to'

Weslie shrugged her shoulders 'You've just got to think about what you want the most, and you never know, Donte might come round to your way of thinking eventually'

Chlo laughed and shook her head 'I don't think so, he really wants this baby, he was so excited when I told him' she sighed.

Wes smiled sadly and patted her on the arm 'It'll be alright Chlo'

'I hope so, see you later Wes'

…

It soon got round the school that Chlo and Donte had broken up because Chlo wanted to give their baby up for adoption, and as much as the rumours and the gossiping would only make matters worse, that didn't stop any of it from happening.

Janeece wasn't happy about any of it, she didn't like the idea of her friend being talked about the way she was, but she also didn't like that Chlo wanted to give the baby up, and felt sorry for Donte. Weslie hated to admit it, but she did agree, she thought Donte deserved better than that and that Chlo should let him have a say in what she did with their baby.

'I can see where she's coming from' Bolton said as they walked to the canteen 'I wouldn't want a baby at that age'

'That's cause you still can't look after yourself properly' Weslie mumbled, winking at Paul, who snickered.

'I heard that' Bolton grumbled 'I could well look after a baby, easy innit' he said confidently.

'You say that now' Weslie said 'but if you were up at half 3 with a crying hungry baby that needed its nappy changing you'd probably change your mind'

He gave her a look and shook his head 'Like I said shorty, easy'

She rolled her eyes 'You wouldn't say so if it happened to you, and I am not short' she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Bolton and Paul laughed 'You're a little bit short babe' Paul said, holding his thumb and finger up, almost pressed together to demonstrate that she was only a little bit short.

'I am not!' she protested, jabbing Paul in the ribs with her elbow. He grabbed her by the arm and swung her around so she was facing him and walking backwards, his hands on her hips.

'I'm just playing with you' he said, kissing her as she pouted at him.

'You better be' she mumbled, kissing him back and wrapping her arms around his neck.

'Ahh there you are, just the lady I was looking for' she heard Matt Wilding say as he emerged from his classroom behind them, beckoning her over.

'Oh hi Mr Wilding, what is it?' she asked, following him into his room, Paul and Bolton behind her. He sat down on his piano, which had the cover down and gave her his pleading face, she knew it well. She laughed 'what am I singing this time?' she asked, sniggering.

'The choir' he said 'it was a disaster, Sam Kelly and Lauren Andrews bribed all the others that turned up into turning up' he sighed.

'Ouch' Weslie said, pulling her face 'what happened?'

'Well not much, I found out straight away and let them all go. Thing is, those two don't give up so easily. I've got a choir, a very small choir but still a choir none the less' he said, standing up 'I'd be eternally grateful if you joined'

She pulled her face again 'I don't know ...' she mumbled.

'Please Weslie, we both know this would be a walk in the park for you, and you wouldn't have to go to all the practices. I think you could be a huge asset and you joining could really help us build our numbers'

She said nothing, considering it. Paul nudged her with his elbow, she turned to look at him, he nodded 'I think you should do it babe' he said.

'You do?'

He nodded again 'yeah, why not? You're an amazing singer'

She smiled and turned back to Matt 'Alright I'll do it' he beamed 'But! Like you said, I'm not going to all the practices, and I want the pick of any solo's that come along' she said, pointing a finger at him 'have we got a deal?'

He nodded enthusiastically 'definitely, deal' he said. She nodded and turned to leave behind Paul and Bolton 'Oh' Wilding said, she looked at him 'I heard about you two' he nodded at her and Paul, a playful smile on his face. Paul turned too and smiled proudly, slipping his arm around her shoulder and kissing her on the head 'Congratulations'

She smiled broadly and said 'Thanks sir' letting a very proud Paul lead her out.


	35. Chapter 35

_I need your help. If anyone has it, I need a link to watch episode sixteen of series 4. The episode with Jem Allen, the supply teacher who claims she lives in that huge house. I really, really want to do that in one of my chapters and as we're getting closer to the end of this part and I have other things left to cover, I need it soon. If not, I'll have to see what I can do._

_Also, as you obviously know Paul and Weslie are together. Now, this is something I've been pondering over for a while. I don't know how much I'm going to go into the sex side of their relationship, as you all know they're both teenagers, and teenagers aren't always the most pleasant of creatures, and I don't want to tip toe around any issues, cause life isn't always pleasant and PC, but I want to know what you'd think of a possible deeper look at their sex life, I'm not saying I'm definitely going to go any deeper, and I'm not saying I'm not, it's just something I'm considering for now, so let me know what you'd think please =]_

The year 11's at Waterloo Road were having a strange day. They were having sexual education classes from Kim Campbell. It was something the school had never touched upon with them before, but was keen to do so. It was becoming apparent to the school that a lot of their older students were becoming increasingly sexually active. It was an issue they had been aware of for a long time, but had not taken much notice of. But now, with Chlo Grangers pregnancy and all the talk of sex amongst their sixth formers and year elevens, they had decided it was time to act.

'Do we really need sex ed?' Weslie whined, dragging her feet and letting Paul half pull her down the corridor. She suspected Chlo and Donte weren't the only reasoning behind the sudden interest in the sexual health and knowledge of the Waterloo Road students. Weslie was fully aware her and Pauls relationship was the subject of a lot of gossip, and it didn't take a genius to realise it had gotten back to the staff, and it didn't help matters when Paul had been caught trying to get his hand up her skirt twice in lessons.

She knew he was only winding her up and wouldn't do something like that at school, but Steph Haydock hadn't been completely convinced and had sent the two of them to the cooler. Rachel Mason had then found out and they had endured a grilling from Kim Campbell about their behaviour in school and safe sex.

'You do, you're a right slag' Bolton joked.

'Oi you cheeky get!' she exclaimed, diving out in front of Paul, who was laughing, to punch Bolton in the chest 'you can talk, least I'm not sleeping with Waterloo Roads own Katie Price wannabe' she said, smiling smugly, Paul nodded beside her.

'She's got a point mate' he smirked.

Bolton scowled at both of them 'Shut up, Jan's a good girl' he said 'And you weren't complaining when you were looking down her shirt the other week' He added, nodding at Paul.

Weslie glared at Paul and moved his arm from around her middle, crossing her arms over her chest and speeding up, walking away from him. He sighed and rolled his eyes 'Thanks mate' he said sarcastically to Bolton, who sniggered and shrugged his shoulders 'I didn't babe, I swear' he said, taking off after Weslie.

Bolton laughed and broke into a jog, catching them 'Nahh he didn't Wes, I just like getting him into trouble' he laughed.

She glared at him with an icy gaze 'honestly?'

He put his hand on his chest, over his heart 'Honestly, he hasn't even looked at another girl since you two got together, I promise'

She looked at him for a moment longer, then at Paul, considering if she believed them or not, then smiled at the adorable look on Paul's face and let him wrap his arms around her shoulders from behind 'You're right' she said, smiling 'he wouldn't look at another girl, he knows I'd rip his balls of' she said sweetly.

Paul looked at Bolton 'I don't doubt that for a second mate'

Bolton laughed loudly and clapped him on the shoulder 'You're obviously her bitch Langers'

…

'Alright, here's one for you' Kim Campbell said, twenty minutes into her sexual education class 'when it comes to the battle of the sexes, who do you think has got it easiest? Boys or girl?'

As she had fully expected, the boys and girls disagreed 'Boys, boys, it's definitely boys' Danielle said, as the other girls said similar things and agreed with her.

'Girls, it's got to be girls' Paul said, sure of himself. Weslie nudged him with her elbow and shook her head.

'Yeah you have!' Aleesha called 'we've got to make sure you've got protection so that we don't end up getting pregnant' she spat, looking at the boys resentfully. Weslie blushed and looked away, she and Paul had had unprotected sex twice, after getting caught up in the heat of the moment. She made a mental note to start taking the pill.

'And we've gotta be protected so we don't catch nuthin' ' Bolton added.

'Look, as long as everybody is protected against sexually transmitted infections that is the main thing' Kim added.

'Yeah but Miss, what about us girls being expected to hold onto our virginity, when that lot can just loose it soon as' Danielle said, shooting the boys a disgusted glare.

'Girls get to do the picking yeah' Bolton said, the other boys mumbling agreement 'we've got to do all the hard work persuading you to sleep with us in the first place'

'Well it's not our fault you thing with that' Michaela said, nodding at Bolton's crotch 'rather than this is it?' She asked, touching her head.

The classroom laughed 'the point is' Kim started 'if we all weren't so competitive we wouldn't be rushing to do anything without thinking it through for ourselves , instead of, well instead of letting others do it for us. Only you know when you are ready, and if that means waiting or staying a virgin a bit longer than you planned, then so be it' Bolton kicked the back of Philips chair, because the class knew he was a virgin. There was a small mutter of laughter.

'An independent and responsible attitude towards sexual activity, well that can help stop the spread of STI's' Kim said.

'Maybe just stop Michaela from sleeping around' Bolton smirked.

'Bolton, please' Kim pleaded.

'No it's alright Miss' Michaela said, getting to her feet 'because I know I haven't got anything, despite of what some people might be saying, I haven't been sleeping around, at all. I'm a virgin if you must know, and it's my choice and it's my business and I'm happy with it' she said defiantly, arms crossed over her chest.

'Thank you Michaela' Kim said, clapping as the rest of the class followed her example 'well done. Anyone else want to express their individuality?'

Philip Ryan got to his feet, the class looked up at him, confused 'Yeah, alright, I'm a virgin too, get over it' he said, with a nervous laugh. The class were silent for a moment, then they burst into laughter. Philip looked around in horror.

'I don't think that's by choice though is it mate?' Bolton sniggered. Philip said nothing, but picked up his bag and ran from the room.

…

Philip had not had a good day; he had been completely embarrassed and had subsequently cancelled his birthday party. But after a talk with Kim and a word with Bolton, who had spread the news of his party, it was back on. He was nervous about it, he wanted them to accept him and like him. He wanted to be liked the same way that Bolton was. He wanted to be like them.

It all seemed so easy for them; they didn't have to try so hard like he did. They had it all, both of them, him and Paul, they were good looking, popular and had beautiful girlfriends, and he wanted the same.

Paul and Weslie were running late. They had arranged to meet Bolton before the party then go there together, once Bolton had managed to get hold of alcohol that was. But as Weslie was female and by default took hours to get ready, and had gone through seven outfits before they could leave the house, she and Paul were late.

'Are you sure I look okay?' Weslie asked, observing herself in a shop window as they were on their way to Philips house after picking Bolton up.

Paul sighed 'You look gorgeous, I promise' he said for what felt like the hundredth time 'doesn't she Bolton?' he asked, pleading with his friend for assistant.

'Yeah you look great Wes' Bolton said with a grin. She glared at them but said nothing. She had gone through endless dresses before deciding to wear a flowing white and partially see through white dress, with pale pink shoes.

She was quiet for the rest of the walk to Philips house, listening to Paul and Bolton talking about the days events and how they could possibly help Philip lose his virginity. She had found the transition from close friends to being Paul's girlfriend a lot easier than she had expected. She had known for a long time she had feelings for him, but they had become such close friends that she wasn't sure how their relationship could survive if they took it further, or even if it would be weird between the two of them. But she was pleasantly surprised at how natural being with him felt.

'I think this is the place' Bolton said as they turned into a driveway 'not quite as big as your place Wes, but pretty big' Bolton said looking up at the three storey house.

'That's cause Wes's is a borderline mansion' Paul laughed.

She shook her head as they made their way up the drive way 'it's not that big'

Bolton and Paul looked at each other and said at the same time 'yes it is'

'Hi Miss' Bolton called, spotting Rachel Mason and Eddie Lawson getting into her car together, it was common knowledge they were a couple now, despite the fact he had been engaged to marry Philips mother, who was Rachel's sister.

'Bolton can you come here please, what is that?' She grimaced, looking at the grates of lager both he and Paul were carry. Weslie said nothing, just grinned, thankful she had a bag to hide her bottle of Malibu in.

'Ahh it's all alcohol free Miss don't worry' he assured her confidently, though the three teens, and probably the two adults too, knew better. Paul laughed and agreed.

'I'm relying you to keep things in order tonight Bolton, make sure nothing goes wrong' she said.

'Don't worry, I'll be looking after him' Bolton said.

'Take those glasses off when I'm talking to you okay' she said, pulling his sunglasses off 'And don't think I don't know about your little advertising campaign for today, anything gets trashed tonight and I'm holding you personally responsible okay?'

'Yes Miss' Bolton said quietly, Paul and Weslie stood behind him.

'Go on' she said. Bolton nodded and walked on. Paul and Weslie both smiled at her and followed him, Weslie fixing her hair, which was down, curly and still very very long. They followed Bolton up the path to the front door as more people were arriving just behind them.

Bolton rang the door bell and a moment later Philip pulled the door open 'Happy Birthday virgin!'

…

An hour later and Philips party was in full swing. Donte had the decks set up and music was blaring from the front room. Chlo was dancing with Weslie and Michaela, Janeece was enjoying the attentions of most of the males in the room and Philip was trying in vain to pull any girl who would look at him twice.

The house had been obviously thoroughly examined by the Waterloo Road students, who had had a field day when they had found old pictures of Miss Mason. But as promised, Bolton was taking care of everything. He was far too busy doing so to have too much of a good time himself, though he did manage to get himself a few drinks.

It wasn't until Weslie went off to find Paul that she noticed anything was wrong.

'I've been looking for you' she called over the music, finding Paul in the kitchen talking to a boy she didn't know. She scowled when she noticed two girls stood making drinks and looking at her boyfriend, and slipped her arm around his middle. He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, unaware of the other girls.

'I'll see you later yeah' the other boy said, leaving them alone.

'Sorry gorgeous' Paul said, passing her another drink 'I was dealing with Bolton'

She looked up at him 'what do you mean dealing with him?' she asked, pulling herself up to sit on the counter. Paul stood in front of her, resting his hands on her thighs and patting them in time with the music coming from the next room.

'Him and Jan have broke up' he said.

She gasped 'No way, what happened?'

He shrugged his shoulders 'I don't know, he said something about her being all over some lads in there'

'I thought she was happy with Bolton though' Weslie said, running a hand through her hair, then fixing it when she realised she had messed it up.

'So did I, but that was before she got her boobs done' he said, giving her a look that implied they both knew what he was talking about.

'Yeah, we both know she's been flaunting it since then, and she's been loving the attention, remember the day we first kissed?' she asked, giving him a threatening glare.

He blushed and looked away, remembering exactly why she had been so mad at him 'Sorry' he mumbled

'It doesn't matter now' she said, lifting his chin up with her finger and kissing him. He took her by the hips and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss and wrapping her legs around his middle. He dropped a hand down to her inner thigh, and started to work his way under her skirt. She pulled away reluctantly and pulled his hand back down her leg. She was slightly out of breath, he knew exactly how to get her going 'when we get home, I promise' she whispered, smirking.

'Anyway' she said after taking a moment to compose herself 'like I was saying, it's obvious she's been flaunting it, but I didn't think it'd go any further, do you think she's been cheating on him?'

Paul shrugged his shoulders, now patting her hips to the music 'I don't think so, but obviously Bolton doesn't like how much she's playing up to the attention she's getting'

Weslie nodded 'and she is _loving _it' she said 'is Bolton okay?'

He nodded 'He sounds fine' he smirked 'in fact I saw him chatting Michaela up a minute ago'

Weslie laughed and jumped down 'he can't be too cut up over it then. Come on, I wanna dace with you' she said, taking him by the hand and pulling him away.

…

Weslie was exhausted. They had been home for a while and were just about ready to go to sleep. She could feel her eyelids begging to be shut, but was fighting it as hard as she could. She was lying on her side in her bed, facing Paul who was watching her and playing with her hair. They had been in bed together for a while, and adding to that the fact she had been drinking, though she wasn't drunk, her body desperately wanted to rest.

'Go to sleep baby' Paul whispered, brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face.

'I'm not tired' she mumbled.

He laughed quietly 'yes you are'

She sighed and fell quiet for a moment 'Have I ever mentioned I love your accent?' she said sleepily, opening very tired eyes to look up at him.

He smiled and shook his head 'No, you haven't' he felt a swell of joy in his chest, she'd never said she loved anything about him before, and it didn't matter that it was only his accent, all he cared about was that she loved something.

'Well I do' she smiled, edging closer to him and putting his arm around her.

'Why?' he asked, kissing her on the forehead.

She shrugged 'I don't know. I just do, it's adorable, I love the way it sounds'

'Well thanks' he said, laughing, he had never really thought about his accent much before. He looked down at her, eyes closed again, nodding and smiling at him, looking nothing short of stunning wearing her underwear and his shirt. He smiled to himself and watched her finally fall asleep.


	36. Chapter 36

_You asked for dramatic. I hope this qualifies. I still need the Jem Allen ep if anyone can help me out. _

'You've entered us into a choir competition?' Weslie asked sceptically, looking up at Matt Wilding who was wearing his usual excited expression.

He had his hands clasped in front of himself, like he did when he was waiting for their input, but no one was talking, they were all looking up at him wearing a mixture of shocked and excited expressions. He nodded, grinning wildly.

No one spoke until after a moments pause, Weslie asked 'are you sure that's wise?'

His arms and his expression dropped, he looked around at his choir in disbelief 'Of course I am!' he exclaimed 'come on guys, I thought you'd be excited about this' he said, looking around in hopes that someone would kick start some enthusiasm.

'But we're not ready' Danielle said from beside Weslie, looking slightly horrified.

Matt sighed and hung his head back for a moment 'of course you are, why wouldn't you be?' He asked, looking around at the unimpressed faces looking back at him.

'Because we're not' Aleesha said, leaning forward in her seat 'for a start we've only been together two months, and none of have ever sung for a proper audience before, except Wes' she said, the others nodding in agreement 'and we haven't even got anything proper to sing yet'

'Well if Weslie can do it why can't you lot then? Eh?' he asked.

'Because she's been doing it for years, we haven't' Aleesha said. Weslie had to admire Aleesha, she wouldn't back down and was never afraid to speak her mind 'and plus, have you heard her sing? None of us are that good'

Matt smiled and shook his head 'but this is a choir Aleesha, we're not focusing on anyone in particular, it's a group effort, no one will be able to tell if any of you are better than the others'

They didn't look convinced. Matt sighed 'Come guys, this could be really good for us, this could be our chance to prove to all the other schools that Waterloo Road has got what it takes' he said, again trying to stir up some enthusiasm.

'What's in it for us?' Denzel Kelly asked.

Matt sighed in frustrated 'how about the satisfaction you get from knowing you're a good choir?'

He looked round at them 'Come on guys, please?' He pleaded.

Flick Mellor was on his side, she got to feet and looked around at her fellow choir singers 'Yeah, why not, we can do this, I know we can'

Matt smiled at Flick 'Exactly Felicity, now come on guys, lets at least give it a go' he pleaded.

Weslie rolled her eyes and nodded 'Fine, count me in' she said unenthusiastically. Matt grinned broadly.

'We'll do it too, won't we Leesh?' Danielle said, looking at her friend, who nodded. Soon the whole choir had agreed to it and Matt was raring to go and wanting to get stuck in straight away. But it was late and he was only supposed to keep them until half four. So they had arranged to meet again in a few days and they all packed up their things and left.

Wes walked out with Aleesha and Danielle, the three girls discussing Flick Mellor and her recent break up with Marley Kelly.

'I think it's about time those two broke up, he's too fit to be with her anyway' Aleesha said, glaring at Flicks back as she was walking away.

Weslie laughed and shook her head, looking down at her phone and texting Paul to tell him she was on her way home 'You're awful Aleesha' she sniggered.

She merely shrugged her shoulders 'Any idea why they broke up?' Weslie asked, putting her phone in her pocket and looking up.

Both girls shook their heads 'She said he said he didn't fancy her, but I don't believe him' Danielle said.

Weslie shrugged 'I don't either. Maybe it's something to do with her dad' Flicks father was a police officer and not the most mild mannered of people, it was common knowledge he hated all the Kelly's and didn't want his little girl associating with any of them.

Aleesha scoffed 'probably, he's a psycho'

The other girls nodded 'Didn't the rig the drug test results?' Danielle asked.

Weslie nodded 'So I heard, swapped Flicks with Marley's cause hers came back positive'

Danielle shook her head 'he is a psycho' she said.

Weslie pulled a face 'Looks like, I'll see you tomorrow'

Danielle and Aleesha went their own way and Weslie went hers, pulling out her iPod and putting her headphones in, deciding on listening to some music on the way home. She would have gotten one of her parents to pick her up, but she wasn't in the mood for listening to them nag at her for having Paul sleep over on school nights. She wouldn't mind so much, but it had only been twice, and they kept going on about it.

The sun was starting to set as she walked, and the night drew in around her. She shivered and pulled her jumper out of her bag, pulling it on over her head.

She was halfway home before she noticed she was being followed. She hadn't even been paying attention to her surroundings, as her feet knew the walk so well, she didn't even need to. But she eventually realised the same person had been walking behind her for the last ten minutes. She looked back over her shoulder, but couldn't see his face for the lack of light and the hooded top he was wearing.

She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and sped up, hoping to lose him, but he sped up too. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribs and her breath coming erratically. She'd never really been scared of anything, her parents had always kept her safe, but now she was feeling genuine fear, and she didn't like it.

She turned off into a small park and took the opportunity to look back over her shoulder again. Seeing that she was still being followed, she pulled he phone out and punched Paul's number in. She bit her lip and prayed silently.

Nothing, she couldn't even get through. She groaned and cursed him for never charging his phone. She searched through her contact list and quickly found Bolton. Pressing the call button, she sent up another silent prayer to a god she didn't truly believe in, and pressed it to her ear.

After a moment of anxious ringing, he picked up.

'Bolton!' she whispered, looking back and finding him still behind, keeping a steady pace 'please tell me you're at home'

'Yeah I am, what's wrong Wes?' he asked, he could hear it in her voice and he certainly didn't like it.

'Come help me please' she whispered close to tears she was that scared 'I'm on Whitehall Street, I'm being followed'

His voice turned furious 'I'm coming now, don't go anywhere'

'Please hurry' she whispered. He hung up and she got a horrid sense of how alone she was. She swallowed hard and stored her phone away deep in her bag. She looked back up and looked back again. As she did, he sped up.

Panicking, she broke into a run. He followed and soon she was running for what felt like her life. Her side begun to hurt but she wouldn't slow down and continued running, listening to the sound of his heavy footsteps behind her as he followed.

She screamed and grabbed for something to hold onto as he caught up with her and grabbed her by the back of her jumper, pulling her backwards down an alley way and forcing a rough hand over her mouth. She was forced backwards against a wall and opened her eyes, only to find a small knife in her face.

'Give me the phone bitch' he said in a low, rough voice.

She shook her head, there was no way she was going to give up easily 'No' she whispered.

He grabbed her around the throat and slammed her backwards onto the wall. She grabbed him by the wrist and tried to pull him off her, but he was too strong and she was already feeling starved of oxygen 'Give it to me now!' he demanded, squeezing her throat harder.

She gasped for air and tried desperately to fight him off.

'Weslie!' she heard her name and looked up, she couldn't see him, but she knew that voice, it was Paul. He must have been with Bolton 'where are you Wes?' she heard Bolton shout.

She brought her knee up fast and hard, between the thighs of her attacker and sent him tumbling to the ground. She took a deep, much needed breath and screamed as loud as she could. Her attacker stumbled to his feet and swung his fist out, catching her square on the jaw as her boyfriend and her best friend both rounded the corner and came to her rescue.

Bolton was on him first, punching him hard in the face, holding him up by the collar so he could do it again and again.

Paul ran to Weslie, who was bent over and panting, and straightened her up 'Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did he do to you?' he asked, all in a rush.

She shook her head and dropped it down onto his shoulder. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her 'I'm fine' she panted, though her jaw felt as though it were on fire.

'Scumbag!' Bolton spat, as her attacker scrambled to his feet and ran away 'you alright Wes? That punch looked painful'

She looked up and straightened herself up 'I'm alright, it hurt but I'll live'

'What did he want?' Paul said, securing an arm around her tightly as they started to walk away, back to Bolton's.

'My phone' she said, massaging her jaw. She felt a million times calmer now she wasn't alone, but still shook up.

'Did he take it?' Paul asked.

She shook her head 'No, I wouldn't give it to him'

Paul stopped abruptly and took her by the arm, tugging on it roughly to bring her round to face him 'what where you thinking Wes? That wasn't the time to be getting valiant, he had a damn knife to you, you could've been killed, and all for the sake of a damned iPhone! Next time forget about being a hero and try not to get yourself killed, if you're not too stupid to manage that!' he shouted, furious with her for putting herself in further danger.

She pulled her arm from his grip and back away from him, close to tears but boiling with anger 'Alright, I get it okay? No need to yell at me like that'

He sighed 'I'm sorry, I just-'

'No' she said, cutting him off 'I don't want to hear it' she said, starting to walk away.

'Weslie wait' he said, taking off after her.

'No Paul' she said, holding a hand up to silence him 'Just, go away please'

'What?' he said, dejected 'I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it' he was starting to panic. She'd never fallen out with him since they got together, and he certainly didn't like the awful feeling it gave him in his chest.

'But you still said it' she said.

He shook his head and reached out for her hands 'I didn't mean it, I was just angry, you were just attacked!' he exclaimed, desperately trying to make up for it.

'Exactly' she nodded 'I was just attacked, I don't need you calling me stupid, I need you to make it all okay'

He swallowed hard 'I'm sorry, I was just worked up, I didn't mean it'

She sighed and nodded 'can we just go home please?'

He nodded and took her hand, taking her home to keep her safe.


	37. Chapter 37

_I know I've been absent for way too long, I'm reeeeally sorry. I had some stuff going on, I've had an awful time and honestly, it gave me my first ever writers block. So I'm back now and hopefully updating frequently again. Sorry again._

_I've changed the format of the choir competition, but you'll see. Enjoy (: _

It didn't take Weslie long to decide she wasn't telling her parents what had happened to her, nor was she reporting it to the police. As far as she was concerned it was all done with now. Nothing had been stolen and she'd only come away from it with a sore jaw, both of which were fine by her.

Paul on the other hand, was not happy about her decision, and neither was Bolton. Both boys had been there when she had been hit, and they knew how scared she'd been. They had also seen who had done it, and were sure the police would be able to do something about it, but if she wasn't willing to talk, there wasn't much they could do about it.

Paul and Weslie rowed about it for almost two days straight. At first they hadn't discussed it, once they were home she acted as though everything was okay, but asked him to stay the night was her because she was still shaken up. But when she told him the following day that she wasn't going to say anything about it, he was furious. The idea of someone attacking his girlfriend and holding a knife to throat was bad enough, but then the thought that he would be getting away with it made Paul so angry he felt he could kill the guy who had done it.

But Weslie was stubborn and though he guilt tripped her a dozen times, and even went a few hours without speaking to her, she wouldn't relent, and eventually he came round to her way of thinking and agreed not to tell anyone else what had happened. He cared that she had been attacked that way, but he didn't want to lose her over it, so he let it go.

She was glad of having the choir and their prep for the competition to distract her. Because, although she denied it, she was still shook up from what happened, and it played on her mind more than she would've liked.

She also had other things to keep her mind off it, namely the fact that Bolton and Michaela White where now an item.

Paul and Weslie had expected it would happen after they were close at Philips birthday party and she had been spending time with the three of them a lot more. So it didn't come to much of a shock to the Paul or Weslie when they got together. The rest of the school on the other hand hadn't expected it happen as Bolton had a reputation for going for the more flashy girls. But he was not ashamed of Michaela, and didn't care what his peers thought of him now they were together.

…

'So there are two stages?' Philip Ryan asked, leaning on the back of one of the leather armchairs. He had been an unlikely addition to the choir, but since Flick and Marley had broken up, he'd been very interested in her.

'Yes' Matt Wilding said, pacing as usual 'the first, we all sing together, a song that we've written' he said with a slight grimace, he wasn't sure any of this singers could write particularly well 'the second we have a lead and you all sing backing for the lead, and we can sing any song we like for that one' he said.

'Who's lead then?' Philip asked.

Aleesha rolled her eyes 'Weslie obviously, like you need to ask' she mumbled.

Weslie avoided Philips eye as he glared at her, obviously he had been hoping to impress Flick. Matt looked at Weslie 'is that okay with you? Would you be the lead?'

She shrugged her shoulders 'I don't see why not'

'But what're we singing?' Flick asked.

Matt shrugged, looking harassed and looked around at his singers 'I don't know yet, I was hoping you lot would have a few suggestions'

Weslie smirked and nodded 'leave that to me, I'll find us a song' she said confidently nodding.

He smiled 'is that fine with everyone else?' he asked, looking around. No one objected. Matt smiled again and clapped his hands together 'right, well that's fantastic. Now who wants to write our song for us? I'd do it but it has to be one of you guys I'm afraid'

There was a low grumble of complaint that circled around the room until Flick Mellor piped up 'I'll do it' she said, rolling her eyes.

Matt nodded 'Thanks Flick' and looked around the room 'well, I think that's everything for today' he said with a smile, it was only a lunchtime and he had called an emergency meeting for all members 'so off you go, back to your lessons and I'll see you tomorrow night'

There was an outburst of chattering and a scraping of chair legs as everyone got up and started to leave. Weslie was only by the door when Matt called her back. She rolled her eyes and walked back in to him.

'Yes sir?' she asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

He tilted his head to look at the side of hers, and more specifically the angry bruise on her jaw 'what happened there?' he asked.

She smiled and pressed her fingers against it 'that's what you get for having a dog the size of a bear and not watching where your going when your walking him' she lied, keeping her smile on her face.

Matt didn't look convinced and looked at it for a moment long 'are you sure? If there's something going on at home you can tell me Weslie' he said quietly.

She frowned and took a step back 'Everything is fine Mr Wilding' she said quietly but firmly.

He looked up at her, finally looking away from her jaw but not really believing her. She'd never shown any signs of having problems at home before, but he knew full well that didn't always mean everything was fine 'is everything okay between you and Paul?'

She took another step back, he was irritating her now, and she was offended he'd ask that 'Everything is _fine_' she said firmly 'I told you, I fell over my dog'

He looked at her for a second longer before she turned and stormed out of the room angrily, slamming the door behind her as she did.

…

Weslie was still feeling irritable when she dropped into an empty seat beside Paul and stole his half eaten pasta from in front of him; then proceeded to stab at the stray piece with the fork he held out for her.

'What's up?' he asked, leaning back and watching her curiously.

'Wilding' she mumbled, still stabbing pasta, shoving the odd piece into her mouth and chewing perhaps a little harder than necessary.

'What's he done? Trouble with the choir?'

She shook her head and shifted around in her seat to face him, abandoning the half eaten food in front of her and slamming the fork down with a _clang!_ 'The cheek of him astounds me Paul, he pretty much asked me if you were beating me up!' she exclaimed in a whisper, looking around to make sure they weren't being overhead.

Pauls jaw dropped 'what? What did he say?'

'Well' she said, tucking her legs up underneath her like she did when she was settling down for a good long gossip 'he asked about this' she said pointing to her jaw, Paul frowned, he still wasn't happy she wouldn't do something about it 'and I told him I fell over Stotch, but he didn't believe me, then he asked me if everything was okay at home, and if everything was good between us'

'I hope you set him right' Paul said.

She rolled her eyes 'No, I told him you frequently beat me senseless, of course I did' she said, slapping his arm.

He gave her a look and rubbed his arm 'good, I'm not having Wilding thinking I'd ever hurt you' he said, cupping the side of her face with his hand. She smiled and leaned into his hand.

'Forget it Paul, I know you wouldn't, surely that's all that should matter?' she suggested.

He nodded 'Well obviously, but I still wouldn't like anyone to think I was beating you'

'No one does' she swore, squeezing his hand 'I promise'

'Promise what ey?' Bolton asked, appearing behind Paul with Michaela. The two took seats on the other side of the table.

'That no one thinks Paul's beating me' Weslie said simply, turning round to face the new arrivals. Paul stared at her, astounded she'd come out with it so easily and so casually, he didn't want Bolton to think so either. But to his relief and surprise, Bolton pulled a very shocked face and shook his head.

'Nahh man' he said dismissively 'she'd probably beat the shit out of you if you tried' he said seriously.

Weslie and Michaela laughed loudly 'Oi!' Paul objected 'I've overpowered her loads of times already' he said proudly. She gave him a look and shook her head, warning him to keep his mouth shut. How and when he had overpowered her was not something she was going to talk about in front of Bolton and Michaela.

'Yeah, probably cause she lets you' Michaela added. The girls laughed louder.

'It's true' Weslie said, fighting to keep a straight face 'I'm always letting him beat me when we wrestle' it wasn't true, though Paul was only small, he was strong and could easily over power Weslie, but she still relished the chance to tease him.

'I hate you all' Paul sulked, stealing his pasta back from Weslie.


	38. Chapter 38

_Sorry yet again for the absence, I have a lot going on right now. I'll try my hardest to update tomorrow for you. Enjoy :D & enjoy the series end tonight, are we all ready to say goodbye to Bolton and Paul? I'm not! D: _

_Tell me how you readers that do imagine Weslie in the show would see her in it tonight, how would the whole Sambuca & Paul at the prom work? I know I have it all planned out, but how would that work for you?_

'This is a lot harder than I thought it would be' Weslie mumbled as she and Paul walked slowly down the corridor. He had an arm around her waist to stop her walking into doors and people as she was buried nose deep in endless pages of songs and music notes.

'Why don't you just do that one?' Paul asked, pointing to the top sheet, which she was looking at with mild interest. She was starting to regret offering to pick the song for the choir.

'Nahh' she said, shaking her head and pulling an ugly disapproving face 'it'd be fine for the choir, but Mr Wilding wants a song with a big impact, a big note to impress the judges with' she said, still not looking up but still rifling through the pages and looking more and more frustrated as she did.

'You mean he wants you to make a big impact?' Paul asked in a disapproving tone. He didn't always like the way Matt Wilding always relied on his girlfriend to carry the rest of the choir, especially since both Matt and Paul had promised her it would be different at Waterloo Road, and that they wouldn't use her like her old school did. Though she didn't seem to be under any distress since she had joined the choir, and the only problem she had encountered was the song she had still yet to choose.

'Probably' she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders and scrunching several pieces of paper up into one big ball and dropping it into the nearest bin, mumbling about them not being good enough 'This one might work' she said, pulling one out and smiling. She looked down at it and started humming quietly, nodding her head as she imagined the choir singing it.

Paul looked down at found it was a song he had never heard of. She sighed and shook her head, then stuffed the paper angrily into her bag 'You'll find the right one soon baby' he said, kissing the side of her head.

She smiled and leaned into his shoulder, stowing the rest of the papers away safely in her bag and nodding. 'You're right' she sighed 'I don't know why I'm stressing so much over it, it's only a choir competition after all'

Paul smiled and nodded, but said nothing. He knew exactly why she was stressing over it, but didn't dare say anything for fear of having his head torn off and kicked around like a football. This performance wasn't as big as her performance at the Urbis, but Matt had heard that a representative from a record label had heard Weslie was to be performing and was coming up to see her sing. Matt had told Weslie, who had acted fine about it, until she had Paul got home and she flew into a panic over it and almost dropped out of the choir four times. Paul had eventually convinced her to perform, but it was still on her mind almost every second of the day.

'Hurry up!' Bolton called as they finally came through the main doors and started to walk to the coach that was waiting for the year 11s 'or we're leaving without you' he threatened, dragging Michaela onto the coach.

Weslie smirked 'I don't think that'd really be a bad thing' she whispered to Paul, who sniggered and nodded his agreement. They were being taken on a theatre trip that afternoon with Grantly and Jem Allen, a rich supply teacher who had been telling all the students about her lavish lifestyle, and though Weslie would usually be interested, she'd rather spend the time finding a song for the choir.

'Come on come on, we haven't got all day' Grantly Budgen groaned in his usually unhappy drawl.

…

One advantage of being friends with Bolton Smilie was he was probably the most popular and admired boy at Waterloo Road, and as always the back seat of the coach was reserved for him and his friends, and this time, Philip Ryan joined them. But the front of the bus was the most interesting place to be as Grantly had called Jem Allen's bluff and had convinced her to show them all the huge house she had been bragging about.

There was a collective impressed gasp from the students as they pulled up by a huge house, a little bigger than Weslie's and Grantly's face dropped.

'Miss, do you really live there? It's massive!' Danielle said, looking very impressed. Jem nodded and answered her, but Weslie and the others didn't have time to hear her answer as they had made a move for the emergency exit of the coach and were already outside and heading for the house. It was a minute before either teacher noticed what was going on, and by that time the entire coach was empty and already waiting to bet let into her house.

'Back on the coach now!' she called, looking exasperated and she tried to usher them away, though no one moved.

'Miss, we're supposed to be at the theatre' Karla said, Jem Allen nodding and agreeing, though she didn't seem to care all that much that they weren't listening to her.

'Yo miss, do you really live there?' Bolton asked

'Yes' she smirked, looking very pleased with herself.

'It's bigger than your place Wes!' Bolton exclaimed.

'Oh Miss, let us in please' Michaela said, as her classmates around her all started to plead with the supply teacher, who was still smirking. She looked to Grantly and pulled the clicker to open the gate out of her back 'Now that you're here, you might as well come in' she said opening the gate and letting the students pour in.

Grantly tried to restore order, but gave up quickly and followed them in.

She let them in through the front door and took them quickly upstairs to the balcony above the living room. Even Weslie was looking around, impressed as she did. It was bigger than her own house, and more lavishly decorated, as the Connor household had to be child friendly, and with six people still living at home, it was never as tidy as Jem's house was, which looked as though it wasn't even lived in.

She led them along the balcony and down the stairs at the far end of the room, pointing out bedrooms and the gym as she did.

'I think you'll like this' she said as she lead them through a pair of double doors at the back of the room, to her own small cinema, complete with huge television and games consoles. The teens dropped into the lavish cushioned chairs, Paul pulled Weslie down onto his lap.

'My parent's need to get one of these' she smirked, looking around the room in awe.

…

She took them on a tour of the rest of the ground floor, and came eventually came to the kitchen, the students where impressed when they opened the fridge and found it stocked full of alcohol. Weslie saw Bolton slip a bottle of champagne out of the fridge and hide it behind his back. She nudged Paul and nodded to it, Bolton signalled that they should get out of there.

'Err, yeah Miss, can I go to the toilet please?' Paul asked.

She nodded 'yeah, they're just through there and on the right, don't be long okay?' she said leading the others out and upstairs to continue their tour. Bolton and Philip slipped out, followed by Michaela and finally Paul and Weslie.

They slipped away and out into one of the spare bedrooms. Michaela started to look around the bathroom whilst the boys got to work on the champagne.

'When you're a famous singer' Paul said, pulling Weslie up to the top end of the bed with him and holding the bottle for her to drink from 'we'll have a place like this' he said, looking around the room and nodded.

She smirked and laughed 'I guess I'll be paying for it then' she said.

He pulled and innocent face and leaned in to kiss her, his hands going down to her hips. Philip blushed and looked away as he pulled her closer.

'This place is like a hotel' Michaela said, standing in the doorway between the bathroom and the bedroom 'everything is new'

'Ahh that's being rich innit, everything's new all the time' Bolton said, handing her the half drunk bottle and walking over to Philip, whose phone was ringing 'Will you two get a room man!' Bolton exclaimed at Paul and Weslie, who where still kissing.

Weslie pulled away and blushed red, she expected Paul to tell Bolton where to go, but to her surprise Paul smirked and got up, taking her by the wrist and pulling her with him 'Good idea mate' he winked, putting her in front of him and pushing her out, grabbing her backside as he did. She laughed and screamed as he did, but let him lead her out.

He grabbed her by the waist and turned her around once they were alone. Putting her between the wall and himself, he kissed her, keeping her close. Her arms went around his neck and she leaned in to him, feeling intoxicated and wanting to be with only him. He groped around her back for the handle to one of the bedroom doors and managed to swing one open, leading her inside and kicking the door shut behind him.

They stumbled over to the dresser, still kissing fiercely, Weslie fumbling with his belt. He grabbed her hips and picked her up, sitting her on the dresser. He traced his hands down to the thighs and under her skirt, massaging the tops of her legs.

She pulled away again and looked him in the eye, she smiled nervously and said 'Paul, I think I love you'

He too smiled and stroked the side of her face 'I know I love you' and joined their lips again.

…

Once they were done in the bedroom they tidied the room quickly, putting the clock and the pictures back on the dresser and went to find their friends. They found them all by the pool, still drinking and messing about.

Philip and Bolton were messing about by the pool and Michaela was lay on one of the loungers.

'Have fun you two?' Bolton said winking as they walked in. Weslie blushed and blanked him, sitting on the other lounger by Michaela, who handed her their second bottle of champagne, though there was only a quarter of the bottle left.

'Shut up man' Paul smirked, but nodded when Weslie wasn't looking 'you'll embarrass her'

'Come on Bolton, I'm going in!' Philip said, pulling his shoes off and backing away, giving himself a better run to the pool

'You going in?' Bolton asked. Philip nodded and took a run for the pool. Bolton caught him just before he jumped him and knocked him to the ground, so just his hand splashed the water. The teens laughed and Bolton and Paul started to wrestle.

Michaela rolled her eyes 'big kids' she said, watching them wrestle like children.

'Always have been, always will be' Weslie agreed. The two girls watched them wrestle, as Philip got down on all fours and nodded for Paul to push Bolton over his back and into the water. Paul laughed and shoved Bolton, who stumbled backwards and tripped over Philip. Philip roared with laughter, but the girls were up and in panic as they watched him fall, he fell and hit his head hard on the edge of the pool as he did, falling into the water.

'Bolton!' Paul exclaimed.

'Get someone!' Michaela screamed as Philips face fell. Paul stared at his friend in disbelief and looked to his girlfriend, who had pulled off her jumper and shoes, looking for her to tell him what to do.

'Get help Paul!' she spat 'now!' Paul ran from the room. Weslie stepped off the edge of the pool and dropped into the water below her, she kicked up hard and came up beneath Bolton, taking him around the rest and hoisting him up. She kicked hard, but their combined weight was dragging her down, and it was all she could do to keep them both above the surface.

'Where's Paul?' Michaela exclaimed, panicking.

'I don't know!' Philip screaming, reaching his hand out to pull Bolton and Weslie closer, though he knew they were too far out.

Weslie's legs were burning from the effort and it was nothing but a relief when Grantly ran into the room and pulled his shoes off. Bolton's weight was too much for her and she went under, gasping as she did, breathing in water. Grantly jumped into the pool and took Bolton from her and helped him to the side where his friends pulled him out as the class poured into the room behind him, followed by Jem Allen.

Weslie kicked up and broke the surface again as Paul reached out to help his soaking wet girlfriend out of the pool, dropping a towel over her shoulders as she climbed out. She looked up, coughing up the water she had swallowed and pushing wait hair from out of her eyes. She saw with a rush of relief that Bolton was awake and complaining about his head hurting.

…

Weslie was exhausted when she got home and needed a hot bath. It had been a long day after Bolton had fallen into the pool. Grantly had called Jem Allen out after he had figured out that she did not live in that house, but was merely house sitting. He had suffered a heart attack as they had been arguing and the students had screamed at her to help, though she could do nothing because she wasn't insured.

He had been taken to hospital and all the students knew was that he was being treated and would be okay. Bolton, Paul, Michaela, Philip and Weslie had been punished for their antics and were to suffer a week of after school detentions.

'I didn't know you couldn't swim' Weslie said to Paul, who was reading the backs of bubble bath bottles in her bathroom and waiting for her to run them both a bath. Her shoulders and legs were aching and she wanted nothing more than a hot soak.

'You didn't?' he asked, looking up. She shook her head and walked to where he was sitting, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, he rested his head on her stomach, feeling her pulse against his cheek 'I just never learned' he said, shrugging his shoulders 'I didn't know you could'

She nodded 'We all had lessons in primary school' she paused for a moment, then looked down at him and asked 'Paul?'

He looked up at her 'yeah?'

'Did you mean what you said to me, in that bedroom today?'

He smiled and kissed her stomach through her shirt 'I meant it, did you?'

There was a moments silence and for a second, Paul was worried she'd say no 'Yes' she said, easing his worries and playing with his hair 'I just didn't know how to tell you'

He breathed in deeply and tightened his grip on her 'well, I know now'


	39. Chapter 39

_Well, we've all seen the end of series now, and it's time to say goodbye to Paul & Bolton and the rest of them, who're you going to miss the most?_

_And, we've all seen the prom, and in a very rare turn of events, I'm going to tell you a little of what I have planned for this story. I will be including the Sambuca/Paul/Bolton situation, but of course, Weslie will be involved. I'm going to do it the same as the show did, Sam will ask Paul out, but Bolton will take her. Weslie won't be at the prom [she may arrive later, she may not] and obviously, things aren't right between her and Paul if he was supposed to be going with Sam. So, tell me, how would you have seen that situation resolved if Weslie was in the show? How did that work in your minds? I know how it'll work out, but I wanna hear how you think it would've. _

Weslie sat at the piano in the music room her parent's had set up for her when she was just a small child, playing and humming to herself. She had gotten her song choices down to three and was practicing them all to see which of them she liked best. It was raining outside, and the sound of it hammering on the windows was oddly calming to her, and was helping her to concentrate.

It was one of those rare occasions when she wasn't with Paul, as the two were almost inseparable. Though she did love spending time with him, and missed him whenever he wasn't around, she was thankful of the time alone and the opportunity to finally decide which song they were to sing. The competition was just weeks away and the choir needed to learn the song, so she didn't have much time left to decide.

Her father on the other hand, had other ideas. He adored his children, all of them. And he was so proud of Weslie that he could watch her play all day. But right now he had other concerns. He had seen that ugly bruise on her face, though it had almost completely gone now. He remembered the day she came home with it, she was shook up, he could tell. But he had barely had time to ask her what had happened before Paul had ushered her upstairs and away from her parents.

He had decided long ago he didn't like Paul. He liked him fine when they were just friends, but when his wife informed him one night that Weslie and Paul were an item, he decided he didn't like him. He tried to get on with him, but there was nothing he could like about the boy who had his hands on his little girl, and if he ever found out they were sleeping together, he'd personally castrate him.

He stood in the doorway watching her play, smiling to himself as she did. He loved the way her hands moved across the keys, it came so naturally to her. She'd been in love with music for as long as he could remember, and he knew it was what she meant to do. So to hear she was performing again filled him with so much pride he could cry.

'I know you're there' she said whilst still playing, and not looking up.

'I'm just watching you' he said quietly, stepping into the room and taking a seat beside her on the bench.

'You always are' she smirked, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

He laughed and nodded, brushing a long piece of her hair back over her shoulder 'I'm your father, it's my job'

She nodded and continued playing. He watched her for a while longer. Neither of them speaking as she did, and eventually started to sing. He smiled and watched her silently; it was possibly the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

'What do you want?' she asked a little while after she had stopped singing.

'I just came to watch you play Wes' he said.

She looked up at him sceptically 'Dad, I can tell when you want something. So what is it?'

He sighed, admitting defeat and brushed the rest of her hair back over her shoulder, leaving the remains of her bruise on show 'I want to talk about this' he said, brushing a finger over it. She said nothing, but moved away from him as he did.

'There's nothing to say, I told you, I fell' she said sternly.

'You fell and landed on the side of your chin? Don't insult my intelligence Weslie Eloise' he said. She stopped playing and looked up at him. He only ever used her middle name when he was serious.

'Yes' she said, staring him down 'I fall all the time, it's no biggie'

He gave her a look 'That's not a bruise from a fall' he said.

She sighed and got up, walking away from him 'what would you know?' she spat.

He got up and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the room 'Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you Weslie' he said. She sighed and turned to look at him.

'Was it him? Was it Paul?'

She pulled her face, astounded he'd suggest something like that and took a step away from him, outraged 'Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!' she said, ignoring him when he warned her to clean up her language 'this is really what this is about? You think Paul is beating me?' she shook her head and turned away, walking around of the room 'you're a fucking idiot if you think he ever would'

…

Weslie was excited when she got into school the following morning. She finally had their song picked and was excited to get the approval of Matt and the choir.

'Got it then?' Paul asked, appearing at her side as she came in through the doors.

She smirked, very sure of herself and nodded 'Of course, as if you expect any less of me'

He laughed and nodded 'obviously I didn't'

She smiled, then grabbed his wrist and pulled him away into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind them as she did 'I need to talk to you about something' she said, answering the questioning look on Pauls face, though her answer made him even more confused.

'Is something wrong?' he asked quietly, his face falling and a horrible sick feeling in his stomach.

'Sort of' she said, chewing her lip and pacing.

'Are you dumping me Wes?' he asked, genuinely terrified.

She span around to face him and took hold of his arms firmly shaking her head 'Oh no, of course not, why would I?' she smiled.

He shook his head 'then what's up?'

She bit her lip and fidgeted for a minute, before saying 'My dad thinks your beating me'

Pauls face dropped and he was up on his feet, filled with rage and astonishment 'WHAT?' he exclaimed, his hands shaking he was that angry. He adored Weslie more than he could ever explain and wouldn't ever even think of hitting her even during their most heated fights 'I wouldn't ever dare touch you Wes! Never! NO! I just wouldn't!' he raged, feeling as though he could break something.

'Paul, I know, I know baby' she argued, grabbing his hands and trying to calm him down 'he just doesn't believe me about my chin' she said, pleading with him to calm down.

He rounded on her 'that's because you _are _lying Weslie' he whispered. He couldn't believe it, it had been him and Bolton who had saved her, and now her dad thought it was him had hurt her, first Wilding now him, did they really think he'd hurt her?

'I know! But I don't want them to know, they'd only over react' she explained.

Paul exhaled and squeezed her fingers 'that's cause they're your parents and they love you'

'I know' she sighed 'Please Paul, just let this one go, I just want to forget about it' she pleaded with him, giving him the sad eyes she knew all too well he couldn't resist 'he won't say anything to you about it, I swear, and he'll forget about it soon enough'

He looked at her and said nothing, considering it but still wound up her father thought he'd ever hurt her in anyway 'Fine' he said after a moment. Her face split into a wide grin and he tried not to act like he wasn't still unhappy about the situation 'but if he says anything Weslie, I'm not going to lie down and take it'

She nodded her agreement 'Okay, okay, but he won't I promise' she smiled and kissed him gently 'Thank you'

'I'm only doing it because I love you' he huffed, ushering her out of the room.

…

Matt Wilding clapped his hands together excitedly, standing behind the rest of his choir as Weslie stood at the front of the room with a rather smug, impressed look on her face, ready to present her song choice to them 'Right' he said, grinning broadly 'what have you got for us?'

'Well' she said, still wearing the same smug expression 'I thought about this long and hard, and I considered tonnes of songs, but I've got it down to the perfect one for our choir, and we're doing to blow the other choirs out of the water with this one' she nodded, the rest of the choir looked up at her, waiting to be told what they'd be singing.

'So what is it?' Lauren asked, getting impatient.

'We're singing Leona Lewis's My Hands' she said, handing out lyrics to the rest of the choir, who all started to read through it.

'I don't think I've heard it' Matt said, looking slightly concerned when she handed him a sheet.

'I didn't think you would, so I put it on a CD, it's in the CD player, put it on' she said. She watched them as the song played, and was happy to see Matt smiling as it came to the end and Leona had given it her all, being the ballad diva she was and making the song completely her own.

'Well?' she asked, once it was over.

'I love it' Flick Mellor piped up 'its perfect'

Matt was almost at a loss for words 'Exactly' he agreed, nodding his head and wearing his usual broad smile 'well done Weslie'

She waved her hand to show it was nothing and took a seat by the window as Matt got up to address the choir 'well, we have our second song, we just need our first' he said, nodding at Flick, who was still writing it 'so we'll start practicing that tonight, so, you all have lessons, off you go and I'll see you later'


	40. Chapter 40

_Consider part 2 finished! I'm off to start part three right now :D someone bounce some ideas off me, anything anyone would like to see? Bearing in mind I do have the main plot of part 3 already planned, so nothing major._

'_You've saved my soul, don't leave me now'_

Weslie was on edge. She was nervous and felt as though she could vomit at any second. As far as she was concerned, today was the most important day of her life, and she couldn't let anything mess it up. If it had been just her performing, she would've felt a lot calmer than she did. Because then she'd know it was all in her own hands, and she had total control of the situation.

But that was not the way it was, and she could not claim total control over the situation, no matter how much she wished she could. The fact of the matter was that this day could be the beginning of the rest of her life, it all went well and the representative from the record label liked her, this could possibly be the start of her professional career. There was so much riding on the performance of the Waterloo Road choir for Weslie and the pressure of it all was starting to get to her.

She knew only too well she held her career in her hands, but she also knew it was in the hands of 25 other Waterloo Road students, none of whom had as much riding on that one single performance as she did.

She felt deep down it was doomed to disaster, as things for the choir had not at all been going well lately. Firstly, Marley Kelly had been viciously beaten by Ralph Mellor, as he and Flick had recently rekindled their romance. Secondly Philip Ryan had been asked to leave the choir after Flick accused him of stalking her, and thirdly, the choir and staff had discovered that Flick had stolen the lyrics to their song from a website, and the man who had written the song had found out.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom at Waterloo Road. On the upside, Chlo Granger had given birth to a beautiful baby girl and decided to keep her, naming her Izzie after her deceased mother, and she and Donte were back together and happily being parents.

As happy as she was about that, Weslie couldn't help but concentrate on the feeling of impending disaster in her stomach as she sat backstage in the toilets as the rest of the choir prepared for the competition. They had already sung the first song, which was a Take That song that all four choirs sang together, and their second song, which they had sang as a choir and had written not ten minutes before they went on stage. She had barely been able to concentrate during the whole thing. She had seen him, the rep, at the back of the room. It was hard to miss him, as he was the only person that looked out of place.

He had been watching her closely, she knew it was her he had come to see, and though she had wanted it for so long, it was terrifying now that it was happening. If it wasn't for her sheer determination to do well in front of him, she was sure she would've messed that performance up.

'I don't think I can do this' she whispered, her eyes wide and unblinking, looking down at her hands clasped together on her lap. She was gripping so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

'Yes you can' Paul whispered, kneeling in front of her 'this is what you do, this is what you're meant to do'

She shook her head, screwing her eyes shut and fighting urges to both vomit and cry 'No' she whispered, her voice shaking 'I can't' The rest of the choir were in their dressing room, preparing for their final performance and waiting for Weslie.

Paul took her hands and squeezed them tightly, forcing her to look at him '_Yes_, you can, we both know you can'

'What if I mess up?' she whispered 'what if I can't hit the notes?'

Paul leaned in closer to her, playing with a piece of her long hair which was hung over her shoulder, trying to calm her down 'Do you remember the Urbis? The first time you performed out of school?'

She nodded 'of course I do' she said.

He nodded too, smiling 'good. Then remembered your second song, you sang Dream On, right?' she nodded, not understanding what point he was making 'that note you hit at the end, the huge one, that one's higher than the one you're going for today isn't it?'

She nodded 'yeah it is, but what's your point?'

'That note, was it hard?'

She shook her head 'No, it was easy; I've hit it a dozen times'

Paul smiled 'there you go then, that one was easy, so why would you miss this one?'

'I'm nervous Paul, there wasn't this much pressure on that performance, this is important' she whispered, her eyes pleading with him to make it okay 'he'll be watching me, and he'll hate me, I know he will'

Paul got up and pulled her onto her feet, taking the seat she had just been sitting on and pulling her back down onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her 'when you get out there, I want to you concentrate on me' he said, his head rested against her chest, listening to her frantic heartbeat 'forget anyone else, and pretend we're just back in the music room at your house, just me and you, no one else, just the two of us'

She nodded and swallowed hard 'Okay, I can do it'

He smiled up at her. There was a light knock on the door and it cracked open a little, Matt Wilding leaning around 'We're next, we've got to go now' he said solemnly, he too knew that the whole competition rested solely on their next song.

She stood up and nodded. She followed him out into the corridor and too their dressing room. She paused at the door and turned to Paul, who gave her an encouraging smile and kissed her 'good luck baby' he whispered, hugging her, before leaving.

A moment later, the Waterloo Road choir spilled out of the room behind her, and the crowd carried her out to the stage. The lights felt hot on her face and she felt the urge to tug at the neck of her shirt, though she knew she had to be in full uniform. She could hear the applause and the screams of the Waterloo Road students, though it all sounded as though it was coming from another room. She followed her choir out and took her place at the front, ten feet away from the rest of them.

Calm fell over the room and there was a seconds silence before she heard the music start to play, and she knew it was time. She looked up and caught the gaze of the rep, catching her off guard. She almost missed her cue, looking up at him. She looked at Paul just in time and snapped herself out of the daze, opening her mouth and starting to sing the intro to the song.

Her voice was the only sound that could be heard and it occurred to her that she felt terribly alone, despite being in a packed room. A huge sense of relief washed over her when she came to the chorus and the choir started to sing with her, she wasn't alone. She was calmer now and sang her next solo lines with confidence and ease, her voice and her shaking hands both settling down.

She kept her eyes locked on Paul when she came to the bridge and knew her moment was just seconds away. It was coming, and it was coming fast. It was time for her to hit that note and show them all what she could do.

Before she knew it, it was on her and her hands had balled into fists, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth, letting out all that raw talent and skill she knew had. It came to her just as easily as Paul had said it would, and she felt calmer than she had all morning. It was a breeze, no different from any other day and any other song. This is what she did, this was her thing, and no amount of nerves was going to take her chance away from her. She could see him, a smirk on his face, impressed. The judges too, nodding their approval. And her friends and peers, screaming and cheering for her.

She stood perfectly still as the song ended and the music died out. The room was full of noise, appreciation for her and the choir, cheering, shouting and clapping. Some from the other schools too. She looked out at the hundreds of faces looking at her, her own expressionless.

'Come on Wes' a voice whispered in her ear. She looked around and realised most of the choir had left the stage 'you've done all you can' Marley said, taking her by the shoulders and leading her away.

…

Weslie smiled to herself in the back of her mothers' car as she drove her home. As eventful as the competition had been, the drama and excitement had not ended there. Waterloo Road had won and all the students in the choir had been ecstatic with the result. Weslie hadn't been able to celebrate as much as she would've liked, because for her it wasn't over. She clapped and congratulated everyone in the choir, but she was still sick with nerves.

She lost sight of the rep after the competition had ended, but kept looking around for him as they were leaving. She thought he had left, until he appeared beside her and pulled her aside as she was about to get into the coach.

'Weslie Connor?' he said, pulling her aside from the crowd.

She nodded and he held his hand out for her, which she took, shaking firmly. Behind her both Paul and Bolton dislodged themselves from the crowd 'Steven Hale' he said, handing her his card 'I work for Imperial records, I came up today to see you perform, you have quite a buzz around you Miss Connor' he said, smirking.

'So I hear' she mumbled, looking down at the card.

'We've been watching you for a while now Weslie, and we'd like you to come to one of our offices and talk about maybe making a demo for us, does that sound good to you?' she asked.

She gave him an incredulous look 'yeah, yeah of course, that sounds fantastic' she said, shaking her head as if to help make sense of what he was saying.

He nodded 'well, give me a call soon and we'll arrange a meeting' he said before shaking her hand again and walking away.

She looked down at the card in her hand for a moment later, before spinning once on the spot as though she were in a daze. She turned to look at Paul and Bolton, who had now been joined by Steph Haydock, Matt Wilding and some of the choir, all wearing questioning looks 'Um, he was from Imperial records. They want me to record a demo' she said, her face splitting into a grin as she jumped on the spot and threw herself at her friends.


	41. Chapter 41

_Start of our final part! Thanks for sticking with me this long, please stick around to see the end. _

_I was tattooed this morning, on my wrist and some of the ink didn't take very well & the artist had to go over it a few times, he had to go pretty deep with the needle too. So as you can imagine, I'm very very sore. So forgive me if I take a few days off again. I may update tomorrow, depends on how I feel. _

**Education – Part 3**

Summer for Weslie Connor had been busy and eventful, but not the summer she had fully expected. She had been to the Manchester offices of Imperial records and had recorded a demo for them, which had gone down very well. 

Both she and the label had been eager for her to sign a contract, but her father had put his foot down and wouldn't let her. He hadn't forgotten what had happened to her the last time she signed a record deal, and he wasn't about to let that happen again any time soon. As far as he concerned, she was still too young for that kind of pressure.

At first she had been dead against doing anything he suggested. She hated the fact that she was so close to achieving her dream, but that her father wanted to stop her reaching it.

They argued about it for over a week. She was hurt that he would try and stop this, though she knew he only every wanted what was best for her. So they had come to an agreement, she would finish her education, get her A levels, and then she was free to sign for whoever she liked.

The only problem for Weslie was that it was more than likely the label would lose interest in her in the months that it would take for her to finish her Education. She hated the thought of it all slipping away from her, when it was almost all hers. But she had to admit defeat and let him have his way, though he did promise to sweeten the deal with driving lessons and a car once she passed her test.

Paul did his best to convince her that she'd still make it as a musician after she was done with school. He knew she was far too talented not to, and he was completely positive that Imperial Records were not the only people in the music industry interested in her, even if they weren't willing to wait a year for her.

So when she returned to Waterloo Road that September, she wasn't the mega star she wanted to be, but she was quietly confident she would one day be.

…

Tensions were running high on the first day of the new term. Waterloo Road had merged with another local school, John Fosters, which was known for being a posh school. And neither set of students were happy about the situation. The John Fosters students thought that the Waterloo Road students were 'scuzzy' and that they were better than them, and the Waterloo Road students thought the John Fosters students were stuck up and needed to be brought down a peg.

'Look at the state of them' Michaela said as she, Bolton, Paul and Weslie all stopped on their way in to watch the new students spilling in through the gates, standing out with their green uniforms and terrified expressions.

'Bunch o' snobs innit' Bolton spat.

'No one wants them here' Michaela said as two girls were passing, watching Bolton and Michaela as they did.

'Yeah, we've only got room for one snob, and we've already got her' Paul said, dropping his arm around Weslie's shoulders.

She gave him a look and jabbed her elbow into his ribs 'Shut up Paul' she said, he pouted at her. They turned and started to walk inside again, walking along side some of the John Fosters students. A lot of the new students were intimidated by the Waterloo Road students, but every so often, one of the new kids wouldn't show any sign of fear and would stand their ground, though no fights broke out.

'Come on, inside please' Rachel Mason said, standing at the top of the front steps with Kim Campbell and the new deputy head.

'Straight into the hall please folks' she said, smiling at the foursome of now sixth form students, none of whom smiled back, or looked even remotely happy. The four exchanged sceptical looks and slouched off into the hall, where they all took seats together behind Karla Bentham.

The hall was filled with plenty of familiar faces. Including some of their fellow six formers and some younger students. Though the absence of their friends that had just left for university and work was noticeable. But the sheer number of new faces was what stood out most to the Waterloo Road students, and they certainly did not like it. The new pupils looked anxious, uncomfortable and slightly intimidated by their new classmates and surroundings.

…

'I don't like that guy at all' Weslie spat, dropping her bag down onto the floor and dropping into one of the sofas beside Paul. Now that they were sixth formers, they had their own common room where they could spend their free periods working or socialising.

'I don't know who he thinks he is talking to me like that!' Michaela raged, walking in behind Weslie in a foul mood. The new executive head, Max Tyler had insulted her during assembly, insinuating that she was stupid.

'Ignore him babes, he don't know nothin' ' Bolton said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She sighed and gave him a look.

'It's going to be a nightmare this year with him around' Weslie said, watching Paul, who had stood up and was checking his hair, which had been recently cut, in the mirror 'you look fine, stop playing with it' she said, playfully kicking him on the backside.

He turned and smiled at her, giving her a wink. He wasn't sure about the new hair. He was used to it being a little longer, but now the back was shorter, though the front was still long, and he'd only had it done because Weslie had suggested it. They had spent most of their summer together and had now been together for seven months, as they had been an item since February, though Paul thought it felt as though they had only been together a matter of weeks. He had always fantasised about being Weslie, but the fact he had been with her for so long was still unbelievable.

'If he says anything like that to me again, I'll smack him' Michaela said, still furious about the way she had been spoken too.

'Forget it Michaela' Weslie said, dropping her feet on Pauls lap as he sat back down 'the man's a pompous prick, it isn't worth rising to his bait' Michaela exhaled, her jaw locked furiously and dropped herself down into an empty seat.

'Who've we got first anyway?' Michaela said after taking a moment to calm herself down.

Bolton looked down at his newly printed timetable 'English with some new teacher, Hopewell' he said, looking confused.

'Who?' Paul asked, pulling the paper from out of Bolton's hands and looking down at him, wearing a confused expression almost identical to Bolton's 'is she one of the John Fosters teachers?' he asked.

'Yeah she is, she's only just qualified though, she did her training with us' a voice said from behind them. They all turned around to see it was a brown haired John Fosters girl who had spoken. All four of them were taken aback; they hadn't expected any of the John Fosters kids to be so bold on their first day.

'Oh, okay … thanks' Weslie said politely after a minute. The four of them exchanged looks as they all got up and gathered their things, heading for the door.

'I'm Ros, by the way' she said, just as they were about to leave. Obviously she was one of the students not completely opposed to the merger.

They all turned back to her, but no one spoke. After a moments awkward silence, Paul jabbed Weslie in the back and gestured to the girl, indicating she should speak to her. She scowled at him and turned back to Ros 'I'm Weslie, this is my boyfriend Paul. That's Michaela, and Bolton' she said, pointing to each of them in turn.

The girl beamed and nodded 'it's really nice to meet you all' they all looked at the girl. Weslie smiled oddly and nodded 'er, yeah, you too' she said as the others left and pulled her with them.

….

'Maybe a nice Volvo' Weslie said, smirking at the idea, looking down at her hands, where Paul was playing with her fingers 'or a Renault' she said, nodding. They were sat in the back of Helen Hopewell's English lesson, discussing what car Weslie wanted when she passed her test. She had already started her lessons as she had turned 17 in early September.

Paul had been dreading her birthday, as he had no idea what to buy her and didn't have the money to compete with her family and wealthy friends from her old school, though she barely ever saw those friends any more. He had pondered over it for weeks before deciding to pay for her another tattoo, which had been a pattern down the side of her hand. She didn't care how much he had spent on her, and though she did love the tattoo, her favourite present had been him cooking for her and spending the night in alone with her. They had eaten, watched her favourite films and gone to bed together, which was better than any material present as far as she was concerned.

'What about a Subaru?' Paul suggested. At the front of the room Helen Hopewell was attempting to control the room, and was failing miserably.

Paul saw his girlfriends' eyes widen 'Oooh, I'd very much like a Subaru. A black one' she said, with a dreamy look on her face.

'Look, I want attention now' Miss Hopewell said, with no authority in her voice. Michaela leaned across the space between desks and nudged Weslie, nodding up at the teacher. She and Paul both looked up, though highly confused, neither could understand why Michaela would want them to pay her any attention.

'Are you just going to let her get away with disobeying you?' Michaela asked, pointing at the John Fosters girl who had come back in from an unauthorised trip to the bathroom 'what? Just cause she's posh? We should all just walk out'

'Yeah, yeah I agree' Danielle Harker agreed, as the Waterloo Road students also voiced their agreement.

'Do you want me to call Miss Mason? Hopewell threatened. It did not have the desired effect, the classroom erupted into laughter. Hopewell gave up, and started to move her things around, ignoring the rowdy classroom.

'Helen?' Michaela called after seeing it written on her pencil case 'is that your name?'

She looked at the teenager for a moment, then marched around to the front of her desk 'never mind what my name is, I know what yours is, Michaela White; loudmouth' the classroom jeered at her.

'Who're you calling a loudmouth?' she asked.

'You, and an empty headed one at that' Michaela said nothing, but silently nodded her head, unfazed by what had been said. She got to her feet and walked to the front of the classroom, where Hopewell backed away from her 'you what?' she said.

'Why don't you just sit down and shut up? Some of us actually want to learn' Ros McCain said, cowering from the paper balls being launched across the room.

Michaela turned to her 'who're you talking to you posh slag?' No one expected what came next. The girl sitting beside Ros, who had left the room without permission swung for Michaela, punching her square in the face and sending her sprawling. The girl leapt on Michaela and the two started to fight, swinging for each other and stumbling around the room. The class was up on its feet, watching the girls fight. Most had their phones out, filming the scrap.

A moment later Tom Clarkson burst in through the door and pulled the girls apart, calming the classroom and sending the girls to Mason's office.

…

'How're those fists feeling Tyson?' Paul joked, walking up the path to Weslie's front door with her.

She smirked and laugh, looking down at her hands 'fine actually, maybe Bolton isn't the only natural fighter' she suggested, swinging a fake punch at Pauls jaw, which he dodged easily.

Paul laughed 'don't be making a habit of it, I don't want you getting hurt do I' he said.

She rolled her eyes 'I'm a big girl Langley, I can take care of myself you know' she said, scrunching her nose up and pretending to jab him in the stomach. He feigned pain and rubbed his stomach, pouting sadly.

'Langley eh? You haven't called me that in ages' he said, taking hold of her fists and walking forwards, walking her backwards towards her front door.

She smiled at his accent, she still loved it despite the fact she had heard it nearly every day for the last 2 years 'I haven't? Weird, I like calling you Langley'

'WESLIE ELOISE!' She heard her father bellow from one of the upstairs windows 'IN, NOW!' she rolled her eyes and sighed sadly. Inside the house she could hear him thundering down the stairs.

'I better go' she sighed, looking down and playing with his jacket, holding it by the two halves of the zip.

'Sure you don't want me to stay?' he asked, looking up at the house warily and stroking the back of her head, he didn't like the idea of her arguing with her parents. He knew she'd more than likely be upset afterwards, and he wanted to be able to comfort her if she was.

'I think its best you don't, they want to roast me from the sounds of it' she sighed.

He nodded and took her by the waist 'alright baby. Call me if you need anything okay?' She nodded just as he joined their lips and they shared small, playful kisses. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he decided he wanted more and slipped his tongue into the equation. He gripped her hips a little tighter and she moved her hand up to the back of his head as he deepened the kiss, so they were properly kissing.

His kiss was mesmerising to her, and she could feel her breathing had deepened and her hands tightening their grip, trying to have as much of him as she possibly could. She resisted the urge to buck her hips against his as she heard the door open behind her.

'In. Now' her father spat. She pulled away from Paul reluctantly.

'By baby' he whispered. She smiled sadly and waved as he turned and left.

She stepped in reluctantly and heard her father snap the door shut behind her 'if I ever see you two like that again Weslie, you won't be seeing him anymore' he whispered threateningly in her ear.

'Oh grow up' she spat 'I'm 17, you can't stop me seeing him' she said, taking her jacket off and throwing it over the back of the sofa, her father following her in to the living room.

'You live under my roof Weslie, you follow my rules' he said.

She turned to look at him, unimpressed with his attempts to control her 'and I'm legally an adult. You can't break us up because you don't like seeing us kissing' she said, turning and walking away again/

'If your behaviour carries on the way it is I promise you, you will _not _be seeing him any time soon' he said, following her to the kitchen where her mother and one of the twins were cooking 'the school called. You were in a _riot_?' he exclaimed.

'I wouldn't exactly call it a riot' she said, smirking as she did.

'ENOUGH OF THE CHEEK WESLIE!' he shouted, loosing his temper with her 'I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'D CALL IT. I CARE YOU WERE IN A DAMN FIGHT TODAY'

'Yeah, I was in a fight, so what? Don't tell me you've never been in one' she said, stopping and opening the fridge, peering inside.

'That's completely irrelevant' her mother said, butting in 'you could be in serious trouble here!' she shouted, angry, but not quite as bad as her husband.

'I got a couple of detentions, what's the damn problem?' Weslie spat. She was too tired to be bothered arguing with them over it. It was true. The tension had escalated to a huge fight between pupils from the two separate schools and a lot of people were in a lot of trouble because of it.

'The problem is Max Tyler is going to come down hard on Waterloo Road, and I will not have you caught in the cross fire, especially not for some boy!' her father shouted, slamming his hand against the door frame.

'Well it's a good job I didn't do it for Paul then isn't it!' Weslie shouted back, slamming the fridge door shut and losing her temper 'I don't know what your issue with him is, but the sooner you start to realise he isn't making me do anything, the better, cause I'm getting pretty sick of you accusing him of shit he hasn't done! Now if you're quite finished, I'd like to go see my dog and watch some TV' she spat, storming away from her parents, neither of whom had expected her outburst.


	42. Chapter 42

_My arm is so very very sore =[ don't ever get a tattoo. The itching has started now too, the itching is unbearable. _

_Anyway, here's your chapter. I'll probably update again later, if not it'll be tomorrow. Enjoy and be kind and review me. Tell me something you'd do if these characters were yours [wes included if you like] or what you think is going to happen. Enjoy._

_P.S watch toy story 3, now!_

'Your father only wants what's best for you Weslie' her mother, Sarah said, sighing. They were sat at the dining table talking about the fight she'd had earlier with her father. It was late, past midnight and Weslie needed to sleep for school, but she was too wound up to do so. So she was eating her way through as much ice cream as she could.

She nodded her head 'I know' she said quietly 'but he isn't going about it the right way'

'He's male' her mother said, stroking the back of her head 'none of them are very tactful. They're not that smart' she said. They both laughed and Weslie looked up.

'True, but I'm getting tired of it. Paul hasn't done anything wrong, I'm sick of telling him that' she sighed, glumly stabbing at a chunk of mint ice cream with her spoon, which was a plastic one they still had from when James was small. She hated that her father had a problem with Paul. She loved her family and Paul meant the world to her, and it only hurt her that her father didn't like him. She hadn't told Paul though; she didn't want him to get upset about it, which she knew he would.

'We both know that, but in your dads eyes he has done wrong' she explained.

Weslie looked up, confused 'what do you mean?'

Sarah sighed and shifted around in her seat 'you're his baby girl Weslie. He loves you all, and it's his job to protect his girls. We just didn't think you were going to end up with a boyfriend when we moved you to Waterloo Road'

Weslie shook her head 'I'm 17, of course I'm going to be interested in boys, what does he expect?' she looked up as Stotch trotted in and slinked away under the table, sitting by Weslie's feet and leaning against her leg, resting his head on her lap. She smiled to herself, he was lovely and warm and his fur was super soft, she adored her dog.

'It's not exactly that Wes. It's the type of boys you're interested in. It was never an issue before you went to Waterloo Road, but your dad doesn't like the kind of boys that go there, he doesn't trust them around you' she explained with a strained smile.

Weslie shook her head incredulously and leaned down to scratch her dog behind the ears, who licked her leg once to show his appreciation 'I'm not stupid mum, I know what kind of boy to stay away from, and Paul's not like that'

Sarah nodded, and squeezed Weslie elbow 'I know that and you know that too, but your dad's just looking out for you, and you two have been together for a while now'

Weslie frowned 'what's that got to do with anything?'

Her mother sighed again 'He thinks your sleeping with him, and he doesn't like the idea of it'

Weslie sat up straight and leaned back, away from her mother 'that's no ones business but ours, and especially not my dads' she said sternly.

Sarah nodded and covered Weslie's hand with her own 'I know, but like I said, he's just looking out for you. And if you are, which you probably are, just please, please promise me you're being careful, I do-'

'Okay okay! Enough mum!' Weslie said, cutting her off mid sentence and blushing red, pulling her hand from under her mothers and hiding her face behind it for a second, massaging her temples. She had a feeling her mother knew perfectly well she was sleeping with Paul 'I'm not an idiot, I know all this shit already'

'I know' Sarah said 'I'm sorry, but I'm your mother, it's my job'

Weslie shook her head 'No, your job is planning weddings, you just enjoy embarrassing me' she said, giving her mother a deadly look.

'I do not enjoy embarrassing you, I'm just here to look after you' Sarah said frostily, folding her arms across her chest and giving her daughter an icy glare.

'Same thing' Weslie said, shrugging her shoulders.

Sarah glared at her 'Right, well I should go to bed, don't be up too late okay?' she said, getting to her feet. Weslie nodded and waved as her mother left. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, abandoning the bowl of ice cream in front of her. She sat there for a long time, thinking about Paul and her parents. She knew they only did what they did because they loved her, but she needed them to see that Paul wouldn't hurt her, and she needed them to know that acting the way they were was only making things worse for her.

She knew she couldn't let Paul find out what they had fought over. She knew it would upset him. He was always trying his hardest to prove to her family that he was worthy of being Weslie's boyfriend. Wes knew he had nothing to prove to them, or even her, but he was still determined to prove how much he cared for her. He felt her parents would think he wasn't good enough. They probably wanted her to date someone like them, someone middle class like they were, someone wealthy and talented like she was. But Paul knew no one could ever love Weslie like he did, and he wasn't prepared to let that go.

Weslie looked down at the dog still resting his head on her lap and looking up at her adorably. She smiled to herself and scratched him behind the ears.

'You like Paul don't you buddy?' she asked him. He looked up at her, still panting. She laughed and scratched him again 'Yeah, course you do, he feeds you' she laughed getting up 'come on, lets go to bed lazy'

…

Tensions still ran high at Waterloo Road over the next week, and though the staff tried their best, they could not always stop the tension from boiling over and going a step too far. Adding to that was the presence of Max Tyler, who had taken it upon himself to remain exclusively at Waterloo Road until the school had improved and was up to his standards.

It didn't bode well for either the Waterloo Road staff or students, who felt as though he was imposing on their school where he wasn't wanted, and the loyalty of the John Foster's pupils and staff to Tyler was only adding to the tension between the two groups.

'I definitely don't like her' Weslie said watching Lindsay James pass her in the corridor followed by her usually crowd of younger girls. Lindsay and Weslie glared at each other until they were out of sight. It was Lindsay who had hit Michaela and also started the huge fight between the two sets of pupils.

'That's cause's she a psycho man' Bolton said, his arm draped across Michaela's shoulders, she too had watched Lindsey walk away, an ugly, disgusted look on her face.

'I'll wipe that smirk off her ugly face if she keeps looking at me like that' Michaela said threateningly. Lindsay wasn't like all the other girls Michaela had ever had a grievance with. She was tougher, harder to intimidate and Michaela wasn't used to it, which only made her more determined to win the personal war that was developing between the two girls.

'She's sly that one Michaela, keep your eye on her, she'll fight dirty' Weslie said, turning back round to face her friends and boyfriend.

Michaela smirked 'if she wants to fight dirty I'll fight dirty, we'll see who wins' she said confidently.

'You should give Michaela a hand babes' Paul said, nudging her gently in the side 'show her who's boss around here' he said, nodding at her. He still found the idea of Weslie fighting attractive, as he had done ever since Bolton suggested she join the old boxing club.

Weslie laughed and shook her head 'Oh no, I'm definitely not a fighter, and I'm pretty sure Michaela can handle her alone' Michaela smirked.

'Weslie Connor' an unwelcome voice spoke from behind them. The four them turned to see Max Tyler striding towards them, looking as though he owned the place 'a word please?' he asked, though they all knew perfectly well it was not a request. She rolled her eyes and gave her friends a look to show she knew she was probably in trouble, and followed Max into one of the empty classrooms.

'Whatever it was, I didn't do it' she said dully as soon as the door had clicked shut behind her, folding her arms across her chest.

'Feeling guilty?' he asked in the same toneless voice he always used. She gave him a look, daring him to accuse her of something 'I've actually just been on the phone with your father' he said, sitting on the edge of one of the empty desks.

'So?' she said with a little more attitude than she'd usually use.

'He tells me that you're against this merger, that wouldn't be true would it?' he asked. She scoffed and smirked, his fake friendly manner wasn't fooling her.

'Of course it is, my father isn't a liar' she said with an icy tone, knowing full well he wouldn't want her father to think he had called him a liar.

Max smirked and shifted around, this one was good, she wasn't as easy to manipulate as the other Waterloo students 'You know Weslie, you'd have done very well at John Fosters, it's a shame your parents never considered a place there for you'

'I do fine here thank you very much' she said, mocking a pleasant tone.

'I'm in doubt you do, the board of governors' are very happy with your work here' he said.

She frowned 'did you want anything in particular Mr Tyler?' she asked, getting very bored of his niceties.

He sighed 'I want this ... rivalry to end Weslie. It's immature and it's only going to do the school, and Miss Mason damage. I know you're very popular with the other students, and I think they'd come a lot quieter if you got on board with the merger' he said, finally getting to the point.

Weslie laughed and smirked, she knew he was after something 'I'm sorry Mr Tyler, Lindsay James ruined any chance of that happening when she punched my friend' she said with a sarcastic smile as she turned and left the room.


	43. Chapter 43

_You lucky badgers, two in a day. I'm too good to you. Something big is coming soon =] in the next few chapters. Enjoy. _

The battle lines had been drawn, and the war between the two schools was still raging. The John Fosters students were making things worse by refusing to wear their new uniform, though a handful of them where, including Ros McCain.

The feud between Michaela and Lindsay was more intense than ever and had inspired girl gangs on either side. The two sixth form girls couldn't even pass in the corridor anymore without threats being made, and more than once it almost came to physical blows. Michaela's hatred of the John Foster's girls was only intensified by the interest year ten girl Amy Porter was paying to Bolton.

'If that slag looks at him again, I'm going to rip her head off' Michaela said wearing a murderous expression.

'She's a year ten, she hasn't got the balls' Weslie said, shaking her head and watching the dark skinned girl pass with her redheaded friend.

Michaela shook her head, but not in the same dismissive manner as Weslie 'I wouldn't put it past her Wes; they're sly little bitches' she said.

'Forget about it' Weslie said 'all she can do is look, he's yours at the end of the day' she said, shrugging. She wasn't as passionate about the war between the schools as Michaela was, she did agree that the John Foster's pupils needed to be taken down a peg, but she couldn't care less about the petty spats. Weslie had other, more worrying things on her mind that she hadn't told anyone, not even Paul about.

'Yeah, yeah you're right' Michaela mumbled, watching the girls pass out of sight. Weslie felt her pocket vibrate and reached inside for her phone, finding a text from Paul.

'I've got to go' she said, reading the message 'I've got Paul's maths book and he needs it, I'll see you later yeah?'

Michaela nodded 'Yeah, later Wes'

…

Weslie gave Paul his book before his math lesson, then left for her own music lesson. They had more lessons apart now, as they were taking some different A level subjects, although they were taking some of the same subjects too. But when she saw him again during break, she could tell something was up.

'What's wrong with you?' she asked the agitated and confused look on his face as he came to meet her outside the music room, she was always late coming out of music lessons. Though Matt Wilding had left, Weslie always spent a lot of time in his old room, and he often emailed her to see how she was doing.

'I dunno' he said, lacing his fingers with hers as they both started to walk away 'some year ten girl told me Mr Mead was looking for me, but when I got to his room he said he wasn't'

'Weird' Weslie said, frowning 'who was she?' she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders 'some John Fosters girl, the redhead'

'What?' Weslie said in a deadly serious tone, coming to a stop. Paul stopped and turned to her. She didn't like the idea of one of the John Foster's girls talking to Paul, because as Michaela had rightly said, they were sly, and one was already trying to get her claws into Bolton, she wouldn't let the same happen to Paul 'she was John Fosters?'

Paul nodded 'Yeah, why?'

'Because they're trouble Paul, they're up to something' she said, turning and starting to walk again 'I can tell'

Paul opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by his phone going off. He fished around in his trouser pocket for it and flipped it open, reading a text from Bolton 'looks like you're right babe, look at this'

He held it up for her to see. The message read _'Come to Haydock's room, that girl set you up' _

'I told you' she said smugly as he dropped his phone into her bag and they started to walk again. He rolled his eyes and took hold of her hand again.

They found Bolton waiting for them outside Steph Haydock's French room, wearing an uncharacteristic worried looking, biting his nails.

'Yo' Paul said as they approached him. Bolton looked up and straightened himself up from where he had been slouching against the wall behind him 'what's going on? How did you find out she set me up?' he asked.

'Cause she wanted you out of the way so she could set me up G' he said.

'What man?' Paul asked, perplexed. Weslie was equally confused.

'That Amy girl man, I told you she was begging for it, she was there waiting for me in the toilets' he explained. Weslie's jaw dropped.

'What?' Paul asked, shaking his head.

'Yeah man' Bolton said, nodding and giving him 'that' kind of look.

Paul's jaw also dropped and he smirked 'You never!' he exclaimed.

'Yeah man' Bolton said, nodding and wearing an impressed grin.

'No way!' Paul exclaimed, smirking and laughing.

'All the way man' Bolton said.

'No way Bolton!' Weslie laughed, it was no concern of hers what he did when he was in a relationship or single, and if he wanted to mess things up with Michaela, it was his own fault 'you're dead meat if she finds out' she giggled.

The two boys clapped hands, and Paul spotted Michaela approaching, a serious look falling on his face 'Yo, you better watch out' he said to Bolton, taking Weslie's hand and leading her away 'come on babe'

Weslie smiled to Michaela as she passed, then whispered to Paul 'you ever do anything like that to me, I'll rip your fucking balls off, understand?'

He squeezed her fingers a little too hard 'Oi' he said tugging on them, making her look at him. His expression was serious 'I'm not Bolton, and you know I'd never do that'

…

'I don't know what he's done but Miss Campbell really didn't look happy' Paul said to Weslie as they made their way to the sixth form common room during their lunch hour.

'Have you seen him since?' she asked. Paul shook his head. Neither of them had seen Bolton since he had been taken out of a science lesson by Kim Campbell. The door of the common room burst open and a furious Michaela came storming out, almost knocking them over on her way past.

'Whoa, what's going on?' Weslie asked her.

Michaela turned on the spot to face her, neither Weslie nor Paul had ever seen her look so angry 'That little slag Amy Porter is saying Bolton tried to rape her!' she exclaimed 'I'm gonna rip her dirty little tongue out' she said, turning and walking away again, in search of Amy.

Paul and Weslie rushed into the common 'what's going on?' Weslie asked.

'Bolton's apparently raped Amy Porter' Aleesha said, Danielle nodding beside her. Paul and Weslie dropped down onto the sofa opposite the girls.

'And you believe that?' Weslie asked sceptically. Both girls looked up at her, it was obvious they did 'oh come on!' she exclaimed 'this is Bolton we're talking about' she said incredulously.

'Why would they cart him off to the cooler if he hadn't done it then?' Aleesha argued.

'You can't be serious? They'd arrest him if he'd really done it!' Weslie exclaimed 'they're probably just trying to find out what really happened. This'll be something the John Foster's girls have come up with to get one over on us, there's no truth in it' Weslie said firmly.

'Michaela seems to think there is' Danielle said, shrugging her shoulders. Paul, who had been sat with a stony expression, got up abruptly from his seat and stormed out, slamming the door behind him as he did. Weslie sighed and got up to follow him.

He was marching so fast down the corridor it took her almost a minute to catch up with him, jogging as she did 'Oi, wait!' she said once she finally got hold of him and had pulled him to a stop, turning him to face her 'what's wrong with you?' she asked, stroking his arms.

'He's my best friend Wes, and he's their friend too, they shouldn't be talking about him like that' he hissed, seething and pointing in the direction of the common room.

'It's just talk Paul, none of its true, let them have their gossip, Bolton's name will be cleared, you'll see' she promised him.

'That's not the point' he said sighing 'you're not supposed to treat your friends like that. I, I've got to get out here, I'll see you later' he said, turning and walking away without even hugging her, leaving his girlfriend feeling dejected.

…

Things only got worse for Bolton as the day wore on. He broke out of the cooler to find and talk to Michaela, finding her with the rest of the sixth form in their next lesson.

'It's like you don't even care you're going out with a rapist' Lindsay James jeered to Michaela, after writing it on the board and asking the class whether they thought it was true or not. As expected the Waterloo Road students leapt to his defence and the John Fosters students condemned him.

'Shut your face James, before I break it' Weslie warned, up on her feet and leering at Lindsay, who loved the effect she was having on the Waterloo Road students.

'That a promise?' Lindsay asked sarcastically.

'I don't think its right everyone calling Bolton Smilie names like he's done a bad thing because you don't know that' Karla said, obviously worked up by the situation.

'Stay out of it Karla' Danielle said.

'Yeah, just don't get involved' Aleesha added.

'No because you have to have evidence!' Karla argued.

Paul got up behind his girlfriend, coming at the John Fosters pupils 'Yeah, how would you know, you wasn't even there!' he exclaimed, pulling Weslie away from Lindsay as the two girls were so close he could tell someone was about to get punched 'I'm telling you guys, Bolton was set up by them JF girls'

The room was full of noise and argument over what had really happened, but everyone noticed when Bolton came bursting in through the door and straight to Michaela 'Michaela' he said, out of breath 'it's a lie. I swear, I'm gonna prove it'

'I'm finished with you Bolton' she said calmly, shaking her head.

'No listen-'

'I'm finishing with you!' she said louder, interrupting him.

'Err, and just what is going on in here?' Grantly Budgen asked, walking into the room as Bolton made for the door, running out 'everybody quiet!'

…

It wasn't long before Michaela regretted breaking up with Bolton. Amy had finally admitted she had lied about Bolton attempting to rape her and his name had been cleared. But the damage that been done and Bolton couldn't be with Michaela when he knew she hadn't believed him. And when he thought about it, it had all happened because she had gotten involved in the girl gangs fight, so he ended it with her.

The whole thing had made Weslie less eager to get involved with the gang war that was going on, though she had felt like hitting Lindsay James earlier on, when she had been talking badly about Bolton. But she knew if she was involved, they'd eventually come after Paul, and she already had too much to worry about without him being attacked.


	44. Chapter 44

_You're a clever bunch indeed. Someone said they wanted to see the ethanol episode. That's next chapter =] and I know Karla was attacked at the end of that episode, but I wanted to do things this way around. Thanks for your reviews, keep them coming & enjoy. _

Paul's phone was ringing. He could hear it, but couldn't find it. He spun around looking for it, rifling through the pile of school books on his bed in search of it. He pushed books aside and tossed his bag to the floor, laughing in triumph when he found it and flipped it open.

'Hello gorgeous' he said answering the call after seeing it was Weslie calling him.

'Paulie Paulie Paulie' she said in a very sweet sing-song voice. He smiled to himself, he loved it when she was in a good mood 'what are you doing?' she asked.

'Well talking to you obviously' he smirked.

He could almost hear her eyes narrowing as she glared 'Obviously captain sarcasm. I mean, what else are you doing?'

'Nothing' he said, shaking his head 'I was going to do some homework, but I really can't be bothered' he smirked.

'Oh forget about that, let's go out instead' she suggested.

He looked down at his watch 'It's almost 9 babe, and I thought you had your driving test tonight?' he asked. He had memorised the date of her test as soon as she found out when it would be, and knew she had been looking forward to it for weeks. She'd been having two lessons a week for 9 weeks and was great behind the wheel; he knew she was desperate to pass her test.

He heard her chuckle down the phone 'look out of your window' she smirked. He frowned and walked over to his window, where he could hear rain hammering against the glass. He looked down and saw her stood on the street outside his house in the pouring rain, waving up at him. His jaw dropped when he saw the silver three door car parked behind her and the keys in her hand. Paul, who knew cars well, could see it was a 2007 Honda Accord Coupe 'Oh my god. I'm on my way down' he said, snapping his phone shut and bolting for the door.

He was still starring in awe when he pulled the front door open a minute later and walked out to her, beaming at him 'you passed?'

She smiled even wider and nodded 'I passed!' she squealed, almost exploding with excitement and throwing herself into his open arms. He picked her up and squeezed her middle, spinning her around once in a circle.

'I knew you could do it, congratulations baby!' he exclaimed, putting her back down and kissing her. Paul starred at the impressive car as he unzipped his jacket and put it on Weslie, who was shivering in the rain, pulling the hood up over her head for her 'this is _gorgeous_' he said, opening one of the doors and leaning in 'must've cost them a bomb'

'About 11 grand apparently' she said from behind him, walking around to the drivers side and getting in, beckoning for him to get in beside her. Paul inhaled sharply as he slid into the seat beside her and snapped the door shut 'But it's for my birthday too …. And probably Christmas' she added.

'You're so lucky' he said, running his and across the smooth interior, admiring the car.

Weslie shrugged her shoulders 'they said I can pay them back when I'm a famous singer' she smirked 'buy them a house or two'

Paul laughed 'definitely two, what other seventeen year old has a car like this' he smirked.

She looked at him, wearing a mischievous grin and asked 'wanna go for a ride?'

He gave her an incredulous look 'obviously, let's go' she smirked and nodded, inserting the key into the ignition and starting the engine up. Paul smirked and nodded when it roared into life, it sounded beautiful. She laughed at the look on his face and slipped the car into gear, driving away from his house.

…

Against the advice of her parent's, Weslie started to drive to school from then on. As she expected, Bolton was almost delirious with glee when he saw the car and insisted on sitting in the drivers' seat and pretending he could drive it himself. The others were also impressed, but she let Paul give them the guided tour around the cars specs.

She was wary at first about having the car in the school car park all day. She was afraid the John Fosters pupils would do something to it when no one else was around, but even they weren't going to take things that far, and they knew they would feel the full extent of Max Tyler's fury if they damaged her car.

'You shoulda got a bigger car Wes' Danielle said, shaking her head as she, Weslie, Bolton and Paul walked across the playground towards the school.

'Why?' Weslie asked.

'More seats means more people, we could've gone on a road trip, how good would that be' she said, smirking and nodding her head.

Weslie laughed, but she saw the lights spark up in Bolton's eyes and heard him gasp 'That'd be well ace man! We could drive down to London for a weekend out' he said, getting inspired and excited by Danielle's initial idea.

Weslie smirked 'we've got a seven seater you know, and I'm on my dads insurance, I can drive any of our cars' she said, nodding.

'Oh my god!' Danielle exclaimed, getting even more excited 'we should definitely do it! We should go on a road trip over the summer before we all go to uni!'

'Definitely man definitely!' Bolton nodded agreeing 'we can go visit all the big cities, go clubbing in ever one, pull a girl from every county' he said, smirking, obviously very impressed with and proud of his idea.

'Is that all you think about?' Weslie laughed, Danielle giving him a disgusted look and shaking her head 'women?' Bolton puffed his chest out and nodded, he was a self proclaimed expert in women.

'Only cause he's never had one' Paul joked, nudging Weslie. Bolton glared whilst the other three laughed at him 'women are just an elusive mystery to him' he smirked.

'Oooh touched a nerve there Bolton?' Danielle teased, still laughing.

Bolton made a dismissive 'pssht!' sound and shook his head, playfully shoving the laughing redhead away 'I'm beating them away with a stick Dan, you're just upset you weren't one of the lucky ones' he winked.

Danielle laughed harder 'Not even in you wildest dreams Smilie!' she promised.

'Oi!' A voice yelled, they looked up to find Danielle's best friend Aleesha running across the playground towards them, and she didn't look happy.

'What's up?' Danielle asked, her face dropping when she saw Aleesha's.

'Karla's not coming in today, Miss Haydock just told me. She was attacked in the playground last night, she says it was Lindsay James and her friends' Weslie felt a bubble of rage erupt in her stomach. She handed her bag to Paul and started to match furiously towards the school.

'Oi? Where are you going?' he called after her.

'Showing Lindsay James what happens when you attack someone who can't defend themselves!' she called back, breaking into a run.

'Weslie no!' Paul yelled, speeding up to catch her 'she isn't worth it' But she wasn't listening. She tore away from him and up the steps, taking them two at a time and throwing one of the doors open, taking off in the direction of the corridor the JF girls always hung out in.

She could hear Paul and her friends behind her, calling for her to stop before she got herself into trouble. But she was too furious to listen to what they had to say. She was okay with the girls attacking Michaela and the girls on her side, they were asking for it, they welcomed it. But attacking Karla was completely out of order, and she was going to make Lindsay sorry for it.

'JAMES!' she yelled, spotting her with her usual crowd of year tens in the history corridor. Lindsay looked around just in time to see Weslie's fist swing at her. Punching her square in the face as hard as she could and sending her sprawling to the floor, clutching her face. She pulled back, ready to kick Lindsay whilst she was down and her gang of followers were looking on in shock, but her friends caught up with her and Bolton threw his arms around her torso, pining her arms by her sides and pulling her back as Paul come round in front of her, grabbing her by the shoulders and telling her to calm down, but she wasn't listening.

'Think it's fucking clever do you? DO YOU?' she screamed, shaking with fury and trying her hardest to throw Bolton off her 'THINK ITS CLEVER BULLYING SOMEONE WHO CAN'T FIGHT BACK? MAKE YOU FEEL BIG DOES IT?' Lindsay was getting up slowly, clutching a bleeding nose 'Why don't you pick on someone who will fight back? Please, I _beg _you, try bullying me, and see how fucking far you get!'

'OI!' Rachel Mason said, rounding the corner with Max Tyler, Christopher Mead and Kim Campbell 'what the hell is going on here?' she demanded.

'She attacked me!' Lindsay said, pointing an accusing finger at Weslie 'the psycho bitch!' Weslie kicked out again, fighting against Bolton's grip.

'Leave it Weslie!' Paul demanded, still in front of her and wearing a warning expression.

'Is this true?' Mason asked Weslie, who smirked and nodded.

'Yes' she said, panting 'and I'd do it again'

Rachel shook her had and ran a hand through her hair 'I can't believe this of you Weslie' she said, looking harassed 'why?'

'She attacked Karla miss! What kind of sick bitch does that?' she asked, glaring at Mason. She felt she deserved rewarding for what she had done, no punishing.

'Who're you calling a bitch you slag?' Lindsay spat. Weslie fought against Bolton again, desperate for another go at Lindsay, who smirked and jeered at her.

'Enough!' Rachel yelled 'Weslie! Cooler, now!' she demanded 'I'll deal with you later' Bolton let go of her warily. She glared at Lindsay and started to walk away, Paul just behind her.

'I'm sorry' she said to him once they had turned the corner and were away from the others.

'What for?' he asked, slipping an arm over her shoulders. She was still breathing hard, wound up over what had happened.

'I shouldn't have done it, I didn't listen to you' she said, looking away from him sadly, she really didn't want him to be pissed off at her.

'Hey' he said, taking her by the chin and making her look at him as they stopped outside the door to the cooler 'she deserved what she got, there was no need to attack Karla' he said, kissing her gently 'now you better get inside you little rebel' he smirked. She smirked and turned, pushing the door open as Paul slapped her backside playfully.

…

Weslie was in the cooler for a while before anyone came to talk to her. She was glad of it though, because she needed the time to cool down. She had never been that angry since she had found Earl had killed Maxine.

She couldn't believe Lindsay would sink low enough to attack Karla, and the thought of it sickened her to her stomach.

She looked up when she eventually heard the door open and saw it was Max Tyler. She groaned internally as he strode over to her.

'I have to say I'm surprised at you Weslie' he said, sitting on the desk in front of the one she was sat behind 'I thought you were too smart to get involved with this girl gang's problem'

Weslie shook her head 'I don't condone anyone attack someone who can't fight back, especially not someone I'm friends with' she said, her voice low 'this isn't about gangs or school pride, it's about Lindsay and Karla'

'And we're dealing with the situation, you had no right to punch Lindsay like you did' he said.

Weslie shrugged 'I don't care, I wanted to hurt that bitch' she whispered threateningly.

Max got up and leaned on the table Weslie was sat at, trying to intimidate her 'I'm warning you Weslie, do not push me, you will not like what happens if you do' he said just as threateningly as Weslie.

Weslie stood up, meeting his eye and leaned closer, smirking 'Try me'


	45. Chapter 45

_I'm really proud of this chapter. I also like this sudden increase in new reviewers, keep it up, I can't even begin to explain how much it's appreciated. _

_Here's your ethanol chapter, hope you enjoy it. I'm going to try to update again tonight, if not I promise it'll be tomorrow._

'Yes, yes I'm completely area of that Amelia, somehow it did cross my mind' Weslie said grumpily, her phone clasped between her ear and her shoulder as she unlocked her car. It was almost 12 and she had to get back to school, having taken the morning off to visit her doctor 'I'm not exactly thrilled about it either' she grumbled.

'Sorry Wes, but you've no one but yourself to blame I'm afraid' Amelia reasoned.

Weslie rolled her eyes as she got into the drivers seat, snapping the door shut behind her 'Oh really? Because some how that didn't occur to me, I thought it was just a force of nature' she spat sarcastically.

'Oh har har' Amelia said dryly 'your hilarity amazes me, as usual'

'Alright, enough of the sarcasm, what the fuck am I going to do?' Weslie asked, putting her phone on speaker and slipping it into its stand as she started the car and pulled out of the car park.

'I haven't a clue, only you can decide that' Amelia said. Weslie rolled her eyes; her sister sounded so cliché 'when will you found out?'

'In about a week, I think' she mumbled, sighing 'Mum's going to kill me'

Amelia laughed and shook her head 'I don't think its mum you need to worry about. I'm pretty sure dad's going to literally butcher you alive when he finds out'

Weslie groaned 'I don't even want to think about what dad's going to say, I'm already in enough trouble with him as it is' she said, sighing deeply.

'What've you done this time?' Amelia asked, rolling her eyes. Of all the Connor children, Weslie had always been the naughty one. She had been a nuisance when she was a child, always getting into things she wasn't supposed to, and always breaking things. Amelia hated having a sister when Weslie was a small child, she was always in her things, breaking her toys or getting paint all over them, but they were close now they were older.

'Fighting in school' she said, as if it was nothing, she knew Amelia would take their fathers side 'I punched Lindsay James in the face'

'Weslie!' Amelia exclaimed in a very exasperated way, she thought Weslie had calmed down a lot since moving to school, but recent events were obviously proving otherwise 'what the hell did you go and do that for? Are you trying to get your car taken off you?'

'Obviously not you idiot' Weslie spat, shaking her head 'I know I shouldn't have Mia, but she deserved it, honestly she did' she swore.

'Oh really? And what could she have done to deserve you decking her in the face then?' she asked sceptically.

'Don't say it like that!' Weslie snapped 'you make me sound like a complete thug'

Amelia snorted 'Don't act like one then' she reasoned.

'She attacked Karla Bentham, the girl with Aspergers syndrome. She deserved it' Weslie repeated defiantly, determined not to be proven wrong on this. Even her parents had agreed with her that Weslie punching Lindsay was justifiable, but that didn't stop them from yelling at her, though it did just about save her car.

'Oh' Amelia said 'maybe she did deserve it then'

'Told you' Weslie said smugly, smiling to herself.

'Alright smartarse. Don't let your head get to big' Amelia warned.

'Too late I'm afraid, it's already got its own orbit' Weslie teased.

'Why doesn't that surprise me' Amelia said dryly. Weslie laughed 'Anyway, I gotta go, I need to get back to work, call me when you find out okay?'

'Yeah, will do. Bye' Weslie said, hanging up and hating the fact she now had no one to talk to.

…

Weslie parked up beside Steph Haydock's car and got out, locking her car and heading towards the school. She smirked and fought the urge to laugh at the faces of the nearest group of year sevens, the younger kids were always amazed to see a pupil driving.

Once inside she set about looking for Paul, who could be anywhere as it was lunch time. She checked the common room and the canteen, finding him in either room and decided to look in the corridors for him.

'Oh hi Wes' a friendly voice said, passing her in the corridor.

She turned, it was Ros, who had stopped and was smiling at her 'where've you been? I haven't seen you all day'

Weslie smiled 'I had to see my doctor this morning' she explained.

'Oh, I hope everything's okay' Ros said, looking worried. Despite the fact she had been a John Foster's pupil, Weslie couldn't help but like Ros, she was an uncommonly friendly girl who always had time for anyone who needed her.

'Everything's fine' Weslie lied, wearing a fake smile as if she had nothing to worry about 'have you seen Paul by any chance Ros?' she asked.

'Umm, no sorry' she said, shaking her head 'I'll tell him you're looking for him if I see him though' she smiled.

'Thanks Ros' Weslie mumbled walking away. She considered calling Paul, but remembered that his phone was in the back seat of her car, so there was no point in that. He was always losing it, and she smiled to herself when she remembered how their first kiss came about.

She looked in the Maths corridor and down the main stairwell, but didn't find him. She was half way down the Art corridor when she came across Bolton, who was in a hurry and certainly didn't look happy 'Bolton, Bolton!' she said, reaching out to grab his arm, stopping him 'where's Paul?'

'Out back' he grumbled 'maybe you can talk some sense into the idiot' he said, walking away. Weslie frowned at Bolton's retreating back, confused. It wasn't often Paul and Bolton fell out, but whenever they did, it was always for a very good reason. She watched him for a second, and then headed out back to find Paul.

She found him out around the back of the canteen surrounded by a crowd of pupils who all seemed to be queuing up to buy something from him. Weslie frowned again and jogged down the steps, fighting her way through the crowd to get to her boyfriend, who was trading what looked like ordinary bottles of fizzy drinks for money.

'What the hell is this?' she asked, fighting her way to the front and coming face to face with Paul, who's face dropped as he tried to hide the bottle in his hand behind his back.

'Oh, hey beautiful' he said in a mock casual voice that didn't fool her. She saw him look over her shoulder and motion for the crowd to disperse.

'What's going on Paul?' she asked, knowing full well he was hiding something from her.

He laughed nervously and shook his head, hastily picking his bag up from his feet and zipping it shut, stowing the bottle he had been holding away inside before he did 'nothing's going on, why wou- why would you think that?' he stammered, trying to sound casual again.

'Oh, nothing, nothing at all eh?' she asked, snatching his bag from him. He dove for it but she moved it out of the way, unzipping it as she did, taking one of the bottles 'then why are kids paying you £1.50 for a bottle that costs 30 pence in the canteen?' she asked, her voice dangerous.

'Don't get mad' he said warily, holding his hands out to stop her if she lashed out for him 'but that's not just pop. There's ethanol in it' he said wearing a nervous smile, hoping she wouldn't explode at him.

'Ethanol? Please tell me you're not being serious?' she asked, unable to believe he'd do something so mind numbingly stupid.

He smiled and nodded 'it's just alcohol innit babe, I've been selling it'

'NO PAUL!' she yelled, completely losing her temper with his utter stupidity, he cowered away from her, feeling an awful pain in his chest at the look on her face, she'd never been this angry with him, and despite the fact he was taller and bigger than her, he felt intimidated 'this isn't _just _alcohol, this is pure undiluted alcohol, you can kill someone with this! Why, just why would you be so stupid!' she spat, furious with him.

'I'm only selling it babe, they know what they're buying and it's up to them what they do with it' he reasoned, trying to defend himself.

She grunted with frustration and threw the bottle in her hand against the wall behind them, where it burst and showered the bins in ethanol and lemonade 'No, they don't though. I'd be surprised if even the year 11's know how dangerous this is! Who have you given it to?' she demanded.

'I don't know' he said, feeling sick 'Danielle had some, she was hung-over, needed a hair of the dog, I think she's okay though' he said.

She shook her head and backed away from him, thrusting his bag back into his hands, her hands up to keep him away from her 'My god, I just, I can't even look at you right now. Just, just leave me alone' she said, walking round him and back inside.

'Wes! Babe I'm sorry!' he called, feeling the pain in his chest spread.

…

Weslie and Paul's day went from bad to worse. Weslie had already had a bad morning, and was only feeling more upset and worried after what Paul had done. She thought he was past all those immature pranks he and Bolton were always pulling, she thought he'd grown up since they'd got together, but obviously she was wrong, and she needed him now more than ever.

Paul and Bolton had both been reprimanded for their actions once Max Tyler had found out what they'd done, and were in serious trouble, though Rachel Mason wouldn't expel either of them.

Danielle had not been alright as Paul had thought. She had been quite the opposite. She had been in such a bad shape that she had to be taken to hospital. She was much more ill than anyone had though after drinking the ethanol, and Paul and Bolton were very lucky she would make it through alright, or then they really would be in _serious_ trouble.

The school had been evacuated and Max Tyler had had every bag searched until every bottle of Ethanol had been found. As the students had been filing back inside, Paul had tried to talk to Weslie, who had blanked him and walked inside alone. He wanted to make up with her, but he and Bolton had to spend the remainder of their day in the cooler, so it was only when they were let out half way through their last lesson that he had any opportunity to go and find her.

She was alone in the library when he finally found her. Sitting behind a desk, starring off into space, her face streamed with tears. He approached her slowly 'Weslie?' he asked warily.

She blinked and looked up at him 'what do you want?' she asked quietly, sounding tired from crying.

'To talk to you' he said, slowly taking another step towards her 'if that's okay?'

She nodded 'I suppose'

He swallowed hard 'Are we- are we still together?' he asked, fearing the worst. She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. 'I'm really sorry Wes' he said, pleading with her to forgive him 'I really am'

She ran a hand through her hair and nodded 'I know, but you still did it'

'I know' he mumbled, looking down at his feet, ashamed at himself after the state Danielle had been in 'and I know it was stupid'

'If you knew it was stupid then why did you do Paul? Why?' she demanded, exasperated with him, she really didn't need this.

He shook his head 'I don't know, I'm an idiot' he mumbled. She got up from her seat and turned away from him, still furious he would act to irresponsibly.

'You nearly killed Danielle, and all to make a quick bit of cash!' she exclaimed, turning to look at him.

'I know, I didn't know she was going to go that bad Wes, I wouldn't have given it to her if I knew, I'm so sorry!' he explained, trying to calm his agitated girlfriend down.

'What if you had killed her Paul? What then? You could've been done for manslaughter and what would I have done without you?' she asked, her voice cracking and fresh tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of it.

She put her hands over her face and started to cry, but Paul didn't dare take another step towards her 'I'm so sorry Weslie' he whispered 'I swear, as long as we're together, I'll never, ever do anything this stupid again'

She looked up and held her arms out for him to hold her, crying hard 'I really need you Paul' she cried as he crossed he room and took her in his arms.


	46. Chapter 46

Rachel Mason was sitting behind her desk filling in paper work for a new student when she heard a knock on her door 'come in' she said without looking up. She heard the door open and someone shuffle in, closing the door behind them.

She looked up 'Hi Weslie, what can I help- what's wrong?' she asked, going off track and her smile fading when she saw that Weslie had been crying.

'I really need to talk to you Miss' she said, trying not to cry and taking a handful of steps into the room 'I've messed up'

Rachel nodded and got up from behind her desk, walking around to the other side and taking Weslie by the arms, moving her over to the sofa in the corner of the room and sitting her down. The poor girl looked absolutely petrified.

Weslie started to sob as soon as she was sat down, hiding her face in her hands, her sobs muffled by the sleeves of her grey jumper which was pulled down over her hands as usual 'Shh, shh come on Wes' Rachel said, rubbing her shoulder to comfort her 'it's okay, whatever it is it'll be okay'

Weslie looked up and shook her head, fighting back her tears 'I've really messed up' she whispered, her shoulders shaking. Rachel had never seen Weslie so sacred, and she was genuinely concerned for her.

'What is it?' Rachel asked, leaning down to look at her face, trying to get Weslie to look up at her so she could calm herself and tell her what was upsetting her.

Weslie sat up straight and took a deep, shuddering breath to calm herself down before she dropped her bomb shell 'I'm pregnant' she whispered.

Rachel took a second to register what she had just said, still rubbing her shoulder 'oh Weslie' she mumbled, unable to believe what she had just heard, she'd never considered Weslie to be the type to get herself pregnant so young 'how far?' she asked.

Weslie wiped her eyes 'six weeks, my doctor just called me with my results, I came straight to you. I'm sacred miss' she said, her bottom lip quivering.

Rachel gave her a supportive smile 'Shh its okay, it's going to be okay. No matter what you chose to do we're going to support you every step of way, okay?' she said, smiling at the terrified teen.

Weslie nodded and swallowed hard. Rachel smiled and got up, opening the door and hanging her head out. Weslie heard her say 'Bridget, could you get Weslie a glass of water please? And ask Kim to come up here' she closed the door and came back inside to Weslie.

'Do you know what you want to do about it?' she asked.

Weslie shrugged and took the tissue Rachel held out for her 'I think I want to keep it' she mumbled 'but I'm scared of what my parent's would say. I'm scared of what Paul will say, and I'm scared I'll be a terrible mother' she said, wiping her eyes as more fresh tears leaked out.

Rachel smiled and stroked Weslie's shoulder 'Any pregnancy is scary; it's a terrifying thought for any first time mother. But you're seventeen Weslie and you haven't done anything wrong for anyone to be mad at you' she explained.

'I'm still young though, really young' Weslie said shaking her head and running a hand through her hair. She had a thousand things going through her mind and didn't know what she should be thinking even if she could think straight.

Rachel nodded 'Yes, you are young, but there are a lot of young mothers who do perfectly well, and you family would be there with you' she smiled.

Weslie shook her head, starring wide eyed at the other side of the room 'No, my father is going to kill me when he finds out'

'I'm sure he'll be surprised, but you're his daughter. He'll just need to get used to the idea' Rachel reason. Weslie swallowed hard and nodded, still starring.

There was a knock on the door and Kim Campbell slowly pushed it open, peering inside.

'Hi Kim, come in' Rachel said, smiling at her and beckoning her in. She came in carrying a glass of water and handed it to Rachel who passed it to Weslie, who had stopped crying and was looking down at her hands.

'Is everything okay?' Kim asked, looking between Weslie and Rachel, perplexed.

Rachel pulled a face to indicate that situation was complicated, she looked to Weslie, then back at Kim 'Weslie is pregnant' she explained.

Kim nodded and took a seat beside Weslie 'Weslie?' she said. Weslie looked up at her 'Have you told Paul yet?' she asked.

'No' Weslie said, shaking her head 'I was too scared, I came here'

Kim nodded 'Right, I think the first thing you need to do is tell him, then the two of you can decide what you're going to do, okay?' Weslie nodded, tearing up again. She knew she needed to tell him, but the risk of him rejecting both her and their baby scared her more than she cared to admit.

Rachel stood 'I'll go get Paul' she smiled heading for the door.

'Are you completely sure you are pregnant?' Kim asked once they were alone.

Weslie nodded 'I went to see my doctor, got my results back today, I'm pregnant, 6 weeks'

'I need to know' Kim said 'If you understand all the options that are available to you now Weslie. Because no matter what anyone else says, this is your body and the choice is down to you and Paul'

'I know' Weslie nodded 'I can't abort it, I just can't' she said shaking her head furiously, even the idea of it made her sick and she knew there was no way she could ever have an abortion.

'Okay' Kim nodded 'well you know your other two options'

Weslie nodded 'Keep it, or put it up for adoption'

'Do you know yet which you'd prefer?' Kim asked, though she knew full well a decision like that could take weeks, even months to make.

Weslie nodded though, seemingly already having made her mind up 'I think I want to keep it Miss, I don't like the idea of someone else bringing my baby up, but what if I'm a terrible mother?' she asked, confiding her fear in Kim Campbell.

Kim smiled 'Don't worry about it, every woman is just as scared when she has her first baby, it's natural, no one knows what to do when they first become a parent, but you learn, and that's exactly what'll happen to you, and there'll be people to help you if you're unsure. I think your own mum must be pretty good at it, she's had six after all' she said smiling and nudging Weslie's shoulder playfully.

Weslie nodded and laughed 'yeah, yeah she has' she looked up at the door open and Miss Mason came back in, followed by Paul who looked both worried and confused, he obviously thought he was in trouble again. He frowned when he saw Weslie, her presence only adding to his confusion.

'Let's give them some privacy eh Kim' Rachel said, holding the door open for her. Kim smiled at Weslie and gave her hand a kick squeeze of support before getting up and leaving the room, leaving Weslie alone with Paul, her boyfriend and father of her child.

'What's going on?' he asked once they were alone 'are you okay babe?' he asked, seeing her tear stained face.

'I think you should sit down' she mumbled, nodding to the empty space in front of her. She was sat side on on the sofa, her legs tucked up under her. He frowned and sat down in front of her. She sighed and reached out, taking his hands.

She took a deep breath and decided to get it over with quickly 'I'm pregnant' she said, staring down at their hands.

There was silence for almost a minute 'what?' Paul said in a barely audible whisper.

She looked up at him 'I'm six weeks pregnant. I-we, we're having a baby'

'Are you being serious?' he asked, feeling oddly out of breath. He certainly hadn't expected that when Rachel had pulled him out of his lesson. He could feel his hands shaking in hers.

She nodded 'I've seen my doctor, it's definite' she said.

Paul exhaled a long slow breath 'Holy shit' he said 'wow' he was at a loss for words and had to take a moment to think, to register what she had just told him. The news of her pregnancy was huge, and was definitely not something he had ever expected.

'Are you mad?' she asked warily after a moment of watching him think, feeling tears welling up again, she was terrified he wouldn't want her anymore. She was scared the thought of impending fatherhood would send him running.

'No, no of course I'm not mad baby' he said smiling and stroking the back of her head, pulling her closer to he could kiss her forehead 'I just really wasn't expecting that' he said, laughing nervously.

She took another deep breath 'I think want to keep it too, to raise it' she said. As soon as she'd said it, she regretted it, maybe it wasn't best to put all of this on him all at once, and she thought she should've let him get to the idea first, before telling him she wanted to keep it.

Paul smiled at her and nodded 'Whatever you want baby' he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest 'we'll do whatever you want, for our baby'

…

Weslie was relieved that she had told Paul and that he wanted them to have their baby, but decided she didn't want to tell anyone else at school until they had had their first scan and had a picture of the baby to show them.

Rachel had decided she would like to keep Weslie in school for as long as she could, so that she could hopefully sit her exams before the baby was born, as her baby was due in mid June. She let all the staff know that afternoon, so they would understand if she was taken ill, or needed to leave early for any appointments.

As soon as she got home, she and Paul told her parents, who where furious, just as she predicted they would be. Her mother couldn't believe she would be so careless and her father couldn't believe Paul had actually got his little girl pregnant. They rowed over it for a while and her father threatened to throw her out of the family home, but her mother put her foot down and refused to let him do so, but asked Weslie to give them a few days to get used to the idea.

They also told Paul's guardian, who was extremely fond of Weslie, but a little disappointed they would let something like this happen when they were so young, but promised to support the two of them as long as they needed her.

The only other person at Waterloo Road they did tell was Bolton, who was more excited than they were and couldn't wait to be 'Uncle Bolton' he had been eager to tell everyone he knew as soon as they told him, but they swore him to secrecy and would only let him tell Candeece, who almost castrated Paul when she found out, then congratulated Weslie, which Weslie found hilarious.

After being roasted by Weslie's parents, she and Paul went to her bedroom and had a long talk about what was ahead of them. They both knew their lives and their relationship would change forever when the baby came, but it was a change they had both accepted quickly and were, in a way, welcoming the arrival of. They had quickly decided they wanted to keep their baby and Weslie knew deep down that there was no one in the world she'd rather be pregnant by.

_I worked my figurative bollocks off to get this out tonight, cause I've been excited as hell to get this chapter to you for weeeeks._

_I'm a little sad some of you figured out what was coming, but I hope I still managed to shock some of you. Anyway, I know the gender of this baby, no I will not tell you. _

_But, I have not named this baby, I'd like suggestions please =]_


	47. Chapter 47

_Thanks for your reviews and name suggestions, I still haven't decided, though I've thought of one I really like. Keep them coming._

Paul needed to think. Weslie's bomb shell had hit him harder than he had made out. He told her everything was fine, and partially that was true, but the thought of the tiny life growing inside her petrified him. It was something he couldn't quite get his mind around. It sounded completely alien to him that at some point when they had slept together, they made created a tiny person.

He had already decided he would stand by Weslie and their child. He'd never known his father, and he remembered how much he had hated that when he was a child, and there was no way he could bring himself to do that to another child, especially not his own. But a part of him was considering that maybe it would be best for their child if he wasn't around. He remembered how ill his mother had been, and how in the months before she killed herself, she had been so low and suffered so much.

He remembered the effect her suffering had on him, how much he hated seeing her like that, and wanted to help, though he was too young and had no idea how to help her. Then, she was gone, and there was nothing he could do.

He hadn't ever told Weslie, he hadn't told anyone, but the possibility of turning out like her sacred him more than anything. He knew illnesses like that could be hereditary, and there was a chance it would be passed down to him. She wasn't the only person in his family who'd had mental problems. He used to live with his Uncle, before he was taken to a mental health institute.

But now there was something more terrifying in his life. He was scared, more scared than he had ever been in his life that he would pass his family weakness onto his child. He would happily suffer for a thousand lifetimes over if it meant he could spare his child any of that, but that was not a guarantee he could make, no matter how hard he wished he could.

The idea of being a father was also terrifying to him. He had no idea how to look after a child; he could just about manage to look after himself whenever he had the house to himself, so being responsible for a life dependant entirely on him and Weslie was terrifying.

He sighed as he sat in front of his computer, going through pictures of him and Weslie on his facebook page. He smiled to himself, looking back through the pages of pictures documenting their friendship and relationship. There tonnes of them, the two of them at the park, in the cinema, shopping, at parties, even camping with friends over the summer. His favourite picture was one he had taken of the two of them in bed one Saturday morning, both looking tired, but happy, Weslie pulling an adorable face as she tried to hide from the camera.

He loved Weslie, more than he could even understand himself, and I did fill him with pride to know she was carrying his child, but he had no idea how it was going to affect their relationship. All he did know was that it was never going to be the same again. They had only a few months left of spending all their time together doing whatever they wanted to. Then they wouldn't be two anymore, they were going to be three.

In the back of his mind he couldn't help but think about all the relationships that end because of pregnancy, and he knew that more often than not, young couples like he and Weslie broke up when a baby was brought into the equation, and he prayed that would not be their fate, he wasn't prepared to lose Weslie.

…

'Mum?' Weslie said tentatively, hanging onto the door frame, watching her mother baking. She hadn't spoken to either of her parents in just over a week, since she told them she was pregnant. They were both still angry with her and had asked her to leave them alone for a while. She understood they needed to get used to the idea, but being ignored by them both was making her miserable.

'What do you want?' her mother asked without looking up at her.

'Can I talk to you?' she asked, still hovering in the door frame.

'I don't really want to speak to you right now Weslie' she said in the same flat, toneless voice.

'I'm really sorry' Weslie said, welling up with tears and turning to walk away, there was no point persisting with her mother, she was the most stubborn person she had ever met.

'Well it's a bit late for sorry! Don't you dare walk away from me!' Sarah snapped, rounding on her, wearing an angry, vicious expression.

'But you just said you didn't want to speak to me' Weslie exclaimed, turning back to her mother, fresh tears on her cheeks, she'd done a lot of crying in the last week.

'I don't care what I said' she snapped 'you'll listen to me when I'm talking to you, do you understand?' Weslie nodded, too scared to speak. She'd never seen her mother so furious in all her life 'do you have any idea what you've done here Weslie? Do you? Do you have any idea how selfish you've been? You've put both my business and your fathers as risk you stupid girl, do you really think anyone will want to be associated with us now? Not when we can't even control our own children!'

'I didn't do it on purpose' Weslie whispered, her shoulders trembling as she cried.

'IT WOULDN'T SURPISE ME IF YOU DID!' she screamed, slamming the wooden spoon in her hand down. Weslie jumped and backed away 'you always were an attention seeker, well congratulations, everyone's talking about you now!'

Weslie clasped her hand over her mouth and started to sob, crying hard 'Whoa what's going on in here?' a very welcome voice said, appearing behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her older brother round the corner, taking her by the shoulders. She hadn't seen him since he had gone back to Leeds to finish his last year of university two months previously.

'What are you doing in here?' Sarah asked, frowning at her Thomas, who had an arm around Weslie, who was crying on his shoulder, the two had always been very close.

'Well seeing as no one decided to tell me Wes is expecting until last night, I thought I should come home and find out what's going on' he said, hugging his baby sister.

'Just get her out of my sight Thomas, I can't stand to look at her' Sarah said, turning away from Weslie. Wes looked up and pushed her brother out of the way, marching away and making a break for her bedroom.

'Smooth, real smooth mum' he said, shaking his head at her before chasing after Weslie. He found her in her room, still crying and stuffing clothes into a bag.

'What are you doing?' he asked, kicking the door shut behind him as Stotch bounded over to him, his tail wagging madly.

'I have to go' she mumbled, fighting more tears and looking around her room for shoes, pulling on a pair of boots when she found them 'I have to get out of here'

'Whoa whoa whoa, slow down a second' he said, taking her by the arms and trying to stop he frantic packing 'where exactly are you going to go?' he asked, though he knew full well he wasn't going to let her go anywhere.

She shrugged her shoulders 'Pauls?' she said.

'Would you just sit down for a minute?' he asked, watching her stuff more clothes into the already jam packed bag. She glared at him for a second then sat down on the edge of her bed, where he said beside her, Stotch getting on the bed behind them 'Ignore her Wes, she's being stupid'

'I know, I'm not an idiot' she spat grumpily 'but that doesn't mean I enjoy being called an attention seeker. She makes out like I let this happen to spite her!' she exclaimed.

'She's just shocked, none of us expect you to get pregnant at this age, we all thought you were so focused on your music career that you wouldn't let anything like this happen' he said.

She rolled her eyes 'I didn't exactly _let _it happen Tom, it was an accident'

'You know what I meant smartarse' he said, shoving her shoulder playfully. She smiled at him and he put an arm across her shoulders, pulling her closer and kissing the side of her head 'seriously, just let her chill for a bit, let her come to you. We both know she's always been one for the dramatics' he smiled.

Weslie smiled and nodded 'I know, I know. I just, I really don't want to be in this situation with her right now'

He needed 'I know, you gotta bigger things to worry about eh? What's Paul said?'

She sighed again 'he says he's okay with it, but I know he's shit scared. I don't blame him, I'm scared too'

'He needs to support you now Wes, he hasn't got time to be scared, and at the end of the day, it's you that has to carry and deliver this baby' he said, rubbing her back as she was leaning forwards, her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands.

'Oh, cause you would've been over the moon, all calm and collective if you got Ali pregnant when you were seventeen' she said sarcastically.

'Well, true' he said after considering it 'but he's gotta face facts now, he's gonna be a dad and he better get used to it'

'Don't worry, he will' she smiled, confident Paul would make an excellent father.

…

'So' Max Tyler said, pacing back and forth in front of Weslie, who was sat behind a desk in the cooler. She found she was in the cooler a lot more often since Max had come to Waterloo Road 'Miss Mason tells me you've been careless enough to get yourself pregnant'

'Well' Weslie said, smirking 'I didn't exactly get myself pregnant, usually you need a man to help with that' she smirked, knowing her cheek would wind him up.

He stopped and glared at her, a deadly threatening glare 'Cut the attitude. Now' he warned her in a low, serious voice.

'Sorry sir' she smirked, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling.

'What are you going to do about this little problem?' he asked, nodding down at her still flat stomach. She was only 8 weeks pregnant and wasn't showing yet.

She gave him an unimpressed look 'my pregnancy isn't a 'problem'' she said.

Max scoffed and carried on pacing 'this is going to reflect very badly on school Weslie, we've already had one pregnant teen just a few months ago, another will look very, very bad. And you are one of our most promising pupils' he said slowly 'it would be very beneficial for the school, and your future prospects' he said looking at her out of the corner of his eye 'if this were, nipped in the bud, so to speak' he suggested.

Weslie looked up at him, shocked he'd suggest such a thing, then laughed aloud 'you really think you can threaten me into having an abortion? Do you have any idea how preposterous that sounds?' she laughed, shaking her head, unable to believe he'd suggest something so outrageous 'you're a disgusting human being' she said, shaking her head.

He leaned forward onto her desk 'I can and will make life here very, difficult for you Weslie' he threatened.

She shook her head, looking up at him 'You can do what you like; I'm not going to have an abortion because you think you can intimidate me'


	48. Chapter 48

_I would've updated yesterday, but I had a bad time the night before. Someone I care very very deeply for hurt me really badly, so I was busy feeling sorry for myself for a while, it hurts y'know. _

_I really like the suggestion of Bolton being part of the babies name, I think I'll definitely have to be doing that one, so thanks! Enjoy your chapter. _

'Do you really think we can do it? Weslie asked Paul one Friday night. They were both sitting in her bedroom. She was on her bed, legs out straight in front of her, staring down at her stomach, which had only recently begun to protrude, though it was barely even a bump. She was now 10 weeks pregnant and didn't feel any different.

'Do what?' asked Paul, who was stood in front of her wall mounted TV, flicking through channels.

'Be parent's' she muttered, still staring down at her stomach, running a hand over it. She hadn't really come to terms with the fact that she was having a baby. She couldn't comprehend that a small life was growing inside her, just under the skin that as under her hand. She felt it would only really become real for her once she really started to show.

He turned round and smiled, abandoning the remote on the desk he got on her bed and crawled up to the top end to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and putting her between his legs when he did 'Of course we can' He said, kissing her on the shoulder 'It'll be hard, but we'll do it'

'But what if we're bad parents?' she mumbled, covering her stomach up again, almost ashamed to look at it, she wasn't exactly proud of herself for getting pregnant so young.

Paul laughed 'we can't be as bad as mine were, I promise you that' he said, squeezing her tighter.

She smiled and looked over her shoulder at him 'That's not funny, your mum loved you, I know she said' she assured him.

She saw his smile falter and fail, and knew he was thinking of her. It was not something he did very often, for it was just too painful for him; he missed her more than anything. But he liked to keep her memory close, and locked safe inside his mind 'I know' he muttered sadly, sighing and resting his head on her shoulder.

'Have you told your uncle about the baby?' she asked. Paul's uncle lived in a mental health institute and was doing a lot better since he had been institutionalised. Paul went to visit him every few weeks, it was always hard on him, Paul had a lot of resentment for him, as he used to beat Paul, though he knew it wasn't his fault.

He nodded 'Yeah, told him last week'

Weslie looked up; she didn't even know he'd been to see him 'Oh? What did he say?'

Paul shrugged 'Not much, asked when it was due, said to tell you congratulations. I don't think he was happy to be honest' he sighed.

'Why not?'

'Scared I think' Paul muttered 'look how Mum ended up, and look at him now, what if it happens to me, or the baby?' he said, closing his eyes and resting his head on her shoulder so she could only see his hair. He still couldn't forgive himself for possibly passing something so sinister on to a helpless, innocent child. His child.

'Oh Paul' she said, turning in his arms to sit side on, wrapping her arms around him. He sighed and wrapped his around her middle, resting his head on her shoulder again 'it's not going to happen to you, _either of you_, I swear it'

'You can't know that' he said, his voice muffled by her shoulder.

'Yes, I can, and I do' she said firmly, shaking him.

He lifted his head up from her shoulder and looked at her 'you're amazing Wes' he said, kissing her briefly.

She smiled and winked at him 'I already know' she agreed.

…

'Weslie' Her mother called up the stairs early on Saturday morning. Weslie, who was still in bed with Paul, sat up and frowned down at him, he was lay beside her wearing an almost identical perplexed look.

'Yeah?' she called back warily.

'Can you come down here please?' she called. Weslie heard her marching away, her footsteps heavy.

'What the hell does she want?' She asked, getting out of bed and pulling on pyjama pants over her shorts.

'How should I know?' Paul said, getting up and catching the shirt she threw to him, pulling it on over his head. Her mother still wasn't happy with her, and Paul was only allowed to be within a hundred feet of the house because her father had put his foot down and over ruled his wife.

Weslie had been very surprised by the reactions of her parents, it had been her father she had expected to be the angry one, not the other way around. Surprisingly, he had been the level headed one, who had accepted their predicament and got on with what needed to be done.

They dressed quickly and headed downstairs, still confused, until they found both Weslie's parents and the twins sitting at the dining room table, apparently waiting for her and Paul 'what's going on?' Weslie asked, looking around the room, confused.

'Your mother thinks we need to have a talk about what's going on' her father said, shooting his wife a resentful glare.

'Should I go?' Paul asked, motioning to the door behind them.

Weslie's father shook his head 'No Paul' he said 'you should stay'

Weslie and Paul exchanged glances before sitting down opposite her parents. Both twins, now 13 years old, looked bored and as though they'd rather be somewhere else 'do the twins really need to be here' Weslie asked.

'Exactly!' Jessica exclaimed, looking to her mother 'can't we just go?'

'Because they're members of this household and they deserve a say in what goes on in their own home' Sarah spat, slamming her fist down on the table. Jessica rolled her eyes and shared a knowing look with her twin.

'I told you they don't need to hear this Sarah' her father hissed. His wife shot him an icy glare.

'And what exactly are we discussing?' Weslie asked, she wasn't sure there was much they needed to talk about. She was having a baby, and that's all there was to it.

Her father sighed deeply, his jaw set, and whilst looking directly at his wife said 'Your mother thinks you should move out'

Weslie frowned and blinked, taken aback 'Whoa, what? You want me to move out?' she asked her. Sarah looked up at her, then nodded slowly.

'I think it's for the best Weslie' she said quietly.

'For who Sarah?' Her father demanded furiously, obviously they had already rowed about it 'for Wes? You think that'd be good for her, having to move into a new home as well as having a baby? You really think that'd benefit her?'

'She made this choice Mark! Now she has to deal with the consequences!' she cried, leaning forwards at him.

'What choice?' he exclaimed 'they didn't plan this! Accidents happen; you should know that yourself, how would you have felt if your mother had thrown you out when you were pregnant with Tom? Cause that's how she's going to feel!'

'Look, if I'm not wanted here then I'll go' Weslie said, attempting to get up from the table.

'You are wanted here!' an unexpected voice interrupted. Weslie stopped, she hadn't expected the twins to defend her, they usually didn't get involved in any dispute Weslie had with her parents 'I want you to stay' Sophie was saying, looking between her sister and her father 'make her say dad'

'Yeah' Jessica agreed 'I don't want you to go either W'

'Exactly' Her father said, now on his feet, as was Weslie 'you are wanted here, and this is my house and she is my child, she will stay here as long as I want her. I'm sorry Sarah but that's the way it's going to be, she needs to be with her family now' he said, looking at his wife.

Weslie felt a sudden rush of affection towards her father when she realised what he was doing. He was willing to put his marriage at risk for her, for just her housing arrangements. In that moment, Weslie truly appreciated the love her father had for his children. Sarah got to her feet and looked at her husband for a moment, her expression furious, and stormed out of the room, slamming a door shut behind her as she went.

Her father sighed and covered his eyes with his hand, massaging his temple with his fingers and thumbs 'You can go now girls' he muttered to the twins, who got up slowly and left, both of them hugging Weslie on their way out.

'Dad I'm really sorry' Weslie whispered once it was just her, her father and Paul in the room. He looked up and gave her a strained smile, then held his arms open for a hug from her.

'You have nothing to be sorry for princess' he said as she crossed the room and let him engulf her in his safe, familiar embrace 'nothing at all'

Weslie nodded 'it's my fault, she wouldn't be like this if I weren't pregnant' she mumbled, tightening her grip. She saw Paul look away uncomfortably.

'No Weslie' he said 'she's being unreasonable, she was pregnant young too remember, and this is no different, you have nothing to be sorry for. Either of you' he said, nodding to Paul, who smiled, he truly appreciated her fathers acceptance, and oddly enough, her falling pregnant had made her father a lot more accepting towards Paul.


	49. Chapter 49

_I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but I kept forgetting, so I'm asking now. Would you like an epilogue? Like some 'X amount of years later' thing or what not. We're literally only 11 chapters from the end and I need to consider writing one. So yay or nay? _

The atmosphere in the Connor household calmed itself down gradually over the next two weeks. Though Sarah Connor still had no desire to talk to her daughter. Weslie was still living at home and her mother was finally getting used to the idea of being a grandparent. Weslie had gotten so bored with the dispute that she had decided to leave her mother alone to sulk.

She was now 12 weeks pregnant and it was the first week in December, Christmas was fast approaching, and Weslie and Paul were in the waiting room of a hospital, waiting for their first baby scan. Weslie was both scared and excited to see their baby for the first time, she knew it would really hit her as soon as she could see it, it would become real.

She looked around the room they were in, feeling horribly out of place in her school uniform and knowing that most of the women in there were judging her and Paul for being so young. All of the other women waiting were older than Weslie, easily at least in their mid twenties, some even in their thirties, and Weslie felt uncomfortable. Across from her a young pretty blond woman looked up at Weslie and smiled. Weslie smiled back at the woman, who was alone and flicking through a glossy magazine.

'Weslie Connor' a nurse called her name. Weslie nodded and got up, Paul following her as the nurse led them to a smaller room, where another nurse was waiting inside.

'Hi Weslie' the nurse smiled 'I'm Evie, if you'd like to get up on the bed please then we can start' she said with a friendly smile.

Weslie glanced at Paul, who took her things and dumped them on the chair that was intended for him, and hoisted herself up onto the bed, lying down.

'This is your first scan, yes?' Evie asked, turning the ultrasound machine on.

'Yeah' Weslie nodded.

'And your first baby?' she asked.

Paul gave her a look and resisted the urge to laugh 'Yeah this is my first' Weslie said, smirking and also trying not to laugh.

'Right okay' she smiled, turning back to them, Paul stood beside the bed 'well what we're going to do is, I'm going to ask you to lift your shirt up there' she said, nodding down at Weslie, who pulled her shirt up to reveal her stomach, which protruded only slightly 'and I'm going to put some gel on you when you're ready, then we're going to have a look at your baby' she smiled.

Weslie nodded, she knew this already, but didn't want to interrupt her 'Okay' she nodded.

'Okay, so shall we get on with it?' the nurse asked.

Weslie nodded 'Yeah sure' she said. The nurse took the tube of blue gel and squirted it onto Weslie, who flinched when she did, she hadn't expected it to be so cold 'I know it's cold, sorry' she mumbled, laughing a little as she used the transducer to spread it around her stomach. She then switched the screen on.

'Okay' she muttered to herself as the blurry grey picture appeared on the screen. Weslie and Paul both squinted, but couldn't make anything out. As this was Weslie first scan, they would be able to determine by size, a more accurate estimation of how pregnant she actually was. The nurse was looking at the screen and moving the probe around.

Then they saw it. She moved it to the left hand side of Weslie stomach and their baby came into view. It was lying on its side, a head and a torso, and what looked like a tiny, tiny nose 'there's your baby' Evie said, smiling broadly and looking at the two of them, starring at the screen in amazement.

'Oh my god' Paul whispered, his eyes locked onto the screen.

'You're lucky' the nurse smiled 'most babies aren't this easy to make out so early on. And' she said, leaning a little closer to the screen 'from the size, I'd say you're about 14 weeks gone' she smiled.

'14?' Weslie asked, amazed 'are you sure?' that would put conception back in mid August, before they had even started back at school.

She nodded 'Yeah, your baby is definitely too big to be anything under 14 weeks, may even be a little older' she said.

Weslie looked at Paul, who was looking back at her, wide eyed. Understanding dawned on her and she hit him lightly in the stomach with the back of her hand, nodding 'when we went camping' she said.

'Oh!' he exclaimed 'oh yeah' Paul said, realising what she meant. They had gone camping with Bolton, Michaela and some others for two weeks over the holidays, and if the nurse was right, the date of conception would be right in the middle of those two weeks. She knew they had been careless with protection more than once, but she hadn't really expected to fall pregnant.

…

Weslie was still smiling down at the picture of their scan when they walked into school during break time. It had finally hit her now that there was something growing inside her, and that she would become a mother when it arrived, caring for and loving the tiny life she had created with Paul.

'It's gorgeous' she said as they walked to the common room, still looking at the picture.

Paul nodded 'yeah' he smiled, his own copy stowed away safe in his inside pocket 'it is. Are you ready to tell them?' she knew it was time for them to tell their friends, she was showing a little more now, and it was beginning to be noticeable.

She smiled broadly 'Yeah I am' she nodded. He smiled and they swung the common room door open, finding their friends and a few others inside. Bolton smiled up at them eagerly; he knew where they had been and was eager to see the scan picture.

'Oh look who's finally here' Michaela joked from where she was stretched out on one of the battered old leather sofas.

'We've been busy' Weslie smirked 'will you lot shut up, we've got something to tell you' she said, brimming with excitement. Most of the room fell quiet looking at them expectantly, waiting for some gossip or scandal. She looked at Paul and smirked, then held up her scan picture for them to see.

No one spoke for a moment, then Philip Ryan piped up 'I don't get it' he said, shaking his head.

'It's a baby' Ros said, taking a step forward 'you're having a baby aren't you?' she asked.

Paul nodded 'That we are' he said smugly, grinning at them. Danielle and Aleesha got to their feet, snatching the picture from her hand and looking down at it, cooing at the tiny person in the picture.

'You're really pregnant?' Michaela asked, getting up and walking to Weslie.

Weslie nodded 'I'm really pregnant' Michaela made a face, neither happy nor unimpressed, then hugged Weslie, which was not something she had expected, Michaela had ever shown any outward gesture of affection towards Weslie before now.

'Congrats' she said as she pulled away, wearing only a small smile. She turned to Paul 'never knew you had it in you Langers' she teased, before turning away and walking back to her magazine.

Bolton roared with laughter 'that's exactly what I said man!' he laughed.

Paul rolled his eyes and punched his best friend in the arm 'still getting more than you' he argued, wiping the smile from Bolton's face instantly 'here, got something for you mate' Paul said, taking the spare copy of their scan out of his pocket and handing it to Bolton. The two of them sat down to look at it.

'My mum says there's too many teen mums around' Karla said, attracting Weslie's attention 'But I think you'll be a good mum' she said.

Weslie frowned, but laughed a little 'err, thanks Karla' she said, not sure if she had actually just been insulted or complimented.

'How far gone are you' Danielle asked, leaning over the back of the sofa and handing her scan picture back after she and Aleesha had both taken pictures of it on their phone, no doubt to show other people who weren't in the common room.

'14 weeks' she said, still surprising even to herself.

'That's ages' Aleesha 'how come we're only finding out now?' she asked, looking a little disappointed.

'I wanted to have a scan to show everyone before I told you all' she explained. The girls nodded; obviously her reason was good enough.

'When did you get pregnant then?' Danielle asked.

Weslie smirked, she wasn't sure they really wanted to know the answer to that question 'I'm pretty sure it was when we er, we all went camping' she said, unable to stop smirking, knowing the girls would react.

'Are you joking?' Aleesha exclaimed 'when we were all in the tents together? Urgh that's disgusting, we could've been like four feet away when they were doing it' she said, looking at Danielle, who was laughing with Weslie.

'Oh get over it' Danielle laughed 'cause you were _definitely _ thinking about doing it with that lad who was there with his mates' she teased, dragging her friend away.

'Oi babe, come here' Paul called, nodding over to where he and Bolton were both sitting. She walked over and slid into the seat beside Paul, who put his arm around her 'let's ask him now' he said. Bolton was watching them looking confused.

She looked at Bolton fleetingly 'yeah, let's do it now?'

'Do what now? What are you on about man?' Bolton asked, eager to know what the big secret was.

'You do it' she said to Paul, who nodded. She felt it was only right Paul asked him, as he was Paul's best friend after all, and they had been friends long before Weslie ever arrived on the scene.

'Well, when the baby comes mate' Paul started, turning to Bolton 'we want you to be its godfather'

Bolton's face fell and they could tell he was overwhelmed by what they had just asked of him. It made him fill with pride to know they would trust him with their child if anything ever happened to them 'you serious?' he asked.

Paul nodded 'definitely mate, wouldn't have anyone else do it'

Bolton's face cracked into a huge smiled and before they knew it, he had pulled the two of them into a bunch crunching hug 'course I will!' he exclaimed 'and I'm gonna be the best godfather ever, wait an see, your kid is gonna be so spoilt' he said, then let go on them and bounded to his feet and out of the room, exclaiming 'I'm gonna be a godfather!' at the top of his lungs.

…

After Bolton's outburst, it didn't take long for the news to travel to the rest of the school, and by lunchtime there wasn't a soul inside Waterloo Road that didn't know Weslie Connor and Paul Langley were having a baby.

They were both questioned in the halls between lessons and during lunch, everyone wanted to know and everyone wanted to see their scan picture. They didn't mind at first, but Weslie soon started to get annoyed by it.

'You're gaining a lot of attention Missy' A voice said as Weslie was making her way to her art lesson, she rolled her eyes and turned around, only to find it was Steph Haydock, stood outside her classroom and smiling at Weslie. Weslie smiled and walked over; thankful she wasn't in for a telling off.

'Oh congratulations you' Steph said, pulling her into a hug once she was close enough. Steph had always been fond of Weslie.

'Thanks Miss' she smiled 'want to see the scan?' she asked, pulling it out of her pocket.

'Of course I do!' she laughed, taking it from her and looking down at it. Her expression softened 'oh just look at its tiny little nose!' she cooed, admiring the picture and handing it back a moment later 'that's absolutely gorgeous'

'Miss Connor, a word please' Weslie had been about to respond, but was interrupted by the unwelcome arrival of Max Tyler. He glared at Steph, who retreated back into her classroom as he pulled Weslie aside to talk to her.

'Yes sir?' she asked dryly.

'I see your problem is still a concern' he said, looking down at the picture in her hand.

'My _problem _is a baby Mr Tyler' she replied, putting emphasis on the word he had used to insult her baby and stowing her picture away again, he was the last person he wanted to see her baby.

'And if you insist on keeping it, I can't have you brandishing it around like some sort of trophy I'm afraid' he said in his usual manner, as though everyone around him were scum and he was better than them all.

'It's only a scan, it's not like I've brought an actual baby to school with me' she argued, shocked he'd be so petty over something so small.

'All the same, it still looks bad on the school' he said, looking down at her 'I'm afraid I'm going to have to ban you from performing in the talent show at the end of term' he said, a smirk on his lips, loving that his punishment was having an effect on her.

'What?' she cried, outraged 'you can't do that!'

'Too bad, I just did' he sneered walking away from her.

She sighed furiously and muttered 'goddamn Nazi!' as he walked away.


	50. Chapter 50

_I think I may have named the baby. I'm excited :D Not too sure about this chapter, but enjoy anyway._

'Lindsay did it? Are you absolutely sure?' Weslie asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. She had never liked Lindsay and knew she was vicious, hot tempered girl, but this was something else completely, and she hadn't thought her capable of that.

'Definitely, I was there Wes, I heard I all, she killed him' Michaela assured her, nodding.

Weslie exhaled and ran a hand through her hair 'wow, I really didn't expect that. I knew she was a nasty piece of work, but I didn't think _she'd _killed her dad' she said.

Michaela nodded solemnly 'he used to abuse her, she was protecting her little sister, I woulda done the same if it were me'

Weslie nodded 'Yeah. Can't imagine being in that situation, I guess he had it coming' she said, nodding.

'Exactly' Michaela said, nodding and holding out the clipboard she had been carrying to Weslie 'which is why you should sign this' she said. Weslie looked down, taking it from her and found it was a petition to have Lindsay released from police custardy. Weslie signed her name.

'Cheers Wes' she said, taking it from her with a smile 'you performing later?' she asked, referring to the talent show that would be taking place that afternoon.

Weslie shook her head glumly 'Can't, Tyler won't let me' she sighed. She was still angry about not being able to perform, but would not give in to Max.

'What?' Michaela exclaimed, outraged 'why not?'

Weslie gestured down to her swollen stomach, which was now noticeable, though her bump was still small 'why do you think? He isn't happy about this. Thinks it reflects badly on the school' she said rolling her eyes.

'He well shouldn't be able to do that, it's got nothing to do with him if you're pregnant' Michaela argued.

Weslie nodded 'exactly, but there's nothing I can do about it, I'm for it if I even dare step a single foot on that stage' she said, sighing.

'Bad luck I guess' Michaela said as she picked up her bag and turned to walk away 'see you later Wes'

…

Weslie shuffled miserably into the hall behind Paul, who found them seats with Ros, Aleesha and Danielle 'Come on baby' he said, seeing the disheartened look on her face 'there'll be other times for you to perform, this one doesn't matter'

'I know' she sighed, sitting down beside him 'but I really wanted to do it this time, and he won't let me, it's out of order Paul, I should be allowed to perform' she argued, starring angrily at the back of Max Tyler's head and wishing she had something heavy to throw at him.

'I know, I know' Paul sighed 'but you know what he's like, he thinks he runs this place' he mumbled.

She glared at him still 'the sooner he's gone, the better. At least we've only got a few months left here' she reasoned, trying to be positive.

'Exactly' Paul said, kissing the side of her head 'we'll be out of here and have our baby to take care of before you know it' he said, placing his hand softly on her stomach. She looked down at his hand and smiled, then looked up at him. They were interrupted as Ruby Fry took to the stage and introduced the first act, which was Denzil Kelly and some friends breakdancing. They were very good and the watching students all enjoyed them. Sitting at the front, Rose Kelly was proudly cheering her son as he danced with his friends. The sixth formers clapped with everyone else when their act was over and they left the stage.

Next onto the stage where Joshua Stevenson and his friend Luke, who were both playing guitars and singing an Oasis song. After them was a year 11 girl doing magic tricks, and another tap dancing after her. There was also a juggling clown, a girl spinning plates and Karla playing a trumpet.

The sixth formers had been loud after Karla's performance, clapping their hands, on their feet and shouting support to their friend, who left the stage wearing a beaming smile. After Karla was a year 10 playing a huge drum, Michaela, who also left the stage to deafening noise from her friends, playing a flute, and Lauren Andrews and Sambuca Kelly street dancing.

Sambuca and Lauren's performance was almost ruined before it had even begun, by Amy Porter and Siobbhan Mailey throwing paint over them as they went out onto the stage. The girls however weren't deterred by their prank and performed anyway, much to the admiration of the watching crowd.

They clapped the girls off and then were very surprised to see Bolton walk out onto the stage. Paul and Weslie both shared perplexed looks, whilst still smiling and clapping. Paul shrugged his shoulders at her questioning glance.

'This poem's called Grantly, the greatest' At the front of the room they saw Grantly Budgen, who had been looking increasingly bored with the event, perk up and look up at Bolton, just as shocked as the rest of them were.

'He's more than a man, he's my inspiration, smartest line of the conversation, killer track of the compilation, brightest star of the constellation, left right left right the combination. Huh, Grantly, the greatest' Weslie and Paul both smirked at each other.

'More than a fighter, he's an educator. Man of wisdom, an illuminator, man of the people a communicator. Man of action, a motivator, get in his way and he'd annihilate yuh' Huh, Grantly, the greatest'

'King of the rings, moves outstanding. Watching him box, my mind expanding. Amazed at every blow that he's planting, loving every punch that he's landing, out of my seat and I start chanting, GRANTLY BOOM-BY-AY, GRANTLY BOOM-BY-AY, GRANTLY BOOM-BY-AY come on! GRANTLY BOOM-BY-AY' Bolton encouraged the watching crowd to join in, and they started to chant with him, clapping their hands.

The sixth formers, Paul, Weslie, Aleesha and Danielle were first on their feet, soon followed by others, chanting for Grantly until he finally got to his feet and waved to the crowd, and they eventually calmed back down and took their seats.

'Did you know he was doing that? Weslie asked loudly over the still rowdy crowd.

'No idea' Paul laughed, sitting back down.

The second to last act was Philip Ryan, who would be performing his comedy routine that Ros had helped him put together. She squeaked with excitement when he came out on stage and grabbed Weslie's hand, squeezing her fingers she was that excited.

He cracked a few gags about school life and the John Fosters pupils, and the Waterloo Road pupils stealing the good things they had brought to the school, before his act took a serious and unexpected turn.

'They did give us Tyler though' Philip said, looking down at him 'and I know we should've kept the receipt but, what can you do' a murmur of laughter scattered across the room.

'He's very dependable our Mr Tyler, you can always rely on him to ruin your day' Philip continued 'and now he's trying to ruin the school. Getting rid of all the best things about it, all the best people. Ahh' he said as Max leaned forward, reacting to Philip 'Better watch my step eh Max, don't wanna get you angry, cause we both know what happens when you get angry, don't we Max?' Philip said, kneeling down to look him in the eye.

Max Tyler got to his feet and stormed towards the stage. Ros got up from her seat and ran out of the hall, Weslie watched her go. 'Ahh coming to join me are you Max? We can do a double act if you want, do the sketch we did in your office last week if you want, what was funny that' Max snatched the microphone from his hand and sent him to the cooler.

…

'What was that all about?' Weslie asked Ros once they were all out in the entrance hall.

'I don't know' Ros, who was obviously in a panic said 'he's going to be in so much trouble' she said, both hands on her head as she dithered about on the spot.

'No, he'll be fine Ros' Paul assured her 'Mason won't let Tyler do anything to him' he said with a warm smile.

'Do you really think so?' she asked, turning to him hopefully.

'Definitely' Bolton said, clapping her on the back perhaps a little harder than necessary 'he'll be fine'

A moment later, Philip appeared at the end of the corridor, looking rather impressed with himself 'what happened?' Ros asked, rushing forwards to meet him. He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the appearance of Rachel Mason and Max Tyler. The students were very happy to see Max carrying a box full of his things. Apparently, he'd been sacked.

He stopped and glared around at the students gathered, watching him leaving, disgraced. He sneered at they started to cheer and sarcastically wave their goodbyes to him, and walked out through the main doors, to thunderous cheers.

Weslie learned a while later that Max had been fired for pushing Philip into a set of drawers and then trying to blackmail him. Weslie had a laugh to herself when she thought of he threats he had made towards her and how pathetic they now seemed.


	51. Chapter 51

'Good morning!' Rachel Mason called as she stood at the top of the steps and watched her students return from their Christmas break 'nice to see you all looking so cheery' she joked at the less than happy impressions on the faces looking back up at her.

'Oh, Weslie, wow' Rachel said, looking down at her and she climbed up the stairs, looking miserable. She had ballooned in size in the three weeks she had been away from school.

'I know' she mumbled, rolling her eyes and shuffling past her, dragging her feet 'I'm look like a beached whale'

'It's not that bad man' Bolton said, holding the door open for her. He seemed more excited about the pregnancy than she and Paul were, and was taking every opportunity he got to show off the scan picture he was carrying around.

'You try being like this and then you can tell me its not that bad' she grumbled miserably 'I've been sick three times already today and my feet are aching like you wouldn't believe'

'Be worth it though, when you've got a baby I can show off' he smirked. Weslie rolled her eyes, she did not doubt that Bolton would be showing their child off. She watched as Sam Kelly and Lauren Andrews walked past. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened with glee when she saw Sam checking Bolton out, and him checking her out too.

'Oohh Bolton!' she exclaimed, trying not to laugh 'did I just see what I think I saw?' she asked, wearing a huge smirk 'did you see that Paul?' she asked.

But Paul looked none the wiser, shaking his head 'No, what are you on about? What did I miss?' he asked, swivelling his head in every direction, in hopes of seeing whatever it was Weslie was worked up over.

'You didn't see?' she exclaimed, giggling with excitement and clutching his arm, her bad mood completely forgotten about 'Oh Paul you're so blind! Maybe Bolton should tell you, what do you think B?' she suggested wearing a mischievous grin.

Bolton, who was also smirking shook his head and shrugged his shoulders 'no idea what you're going on about shorty' he smirked, avoiding her eye.

Weslie laughed loudly as she bounded out in front of Paul to face Bolton, forgetting her sore feet and clutching the bottom of her spine as she did 'Oh yes you do, you liar! Come on, tell him' she demanded, still smirking and grabbing his arms, shaking him.

Bolton shook his head 'Come on! What is it?' Paul asked, growing impatient.

Weslie nudged Bolton, but he remained silent and shook his head once again. She rolled her eyes and went back to Paul's side, linking arms with him 'Bolton and Sam Kelly were just checking each other out' Weslie said, with a wink.

Paul's mouth fell open 'you weren't where you mate?' he exclaimed laughing 'it's Sam Kelly! _Sam Kelly!_'

'Pssht!' Bolton said, dismissing Pauls mocking 'course I weren't you idiot, I can do well better than Sam Kelly' he said, smirking. But Weslie saw him look over his shoulder at her, smiling to himself only slightly, though she didn't mention it to him.

Bolton said nothing as he held open the door to the common room and followed Weslie and Paul inside. She knew he was thinking about Sambuca Kelly. It was obvious to Weslie that Bolton was interested in her. But she also knew Bolton had a reputation, and it was a reputation he had worked very hard to get, and was very proud of. She saw him put a front on almost every day at Waterloo Road, making sure he was respected and everyone knew not to mess with him, because if you crossed Bolton Smilie, you were going to regret it. She saw the way girls looked at him and saw the way he played on their attention, loving his label as a ladies man and safe in the knowledge he could have any girl he liked.

Weslie knew that Sambuca Kelly, despite how much of a nice girl she was, just didn't fit into Bolton's world. She was a Kelly after all, and was not thought very highly of. She too had a reputation at Waterloo Road, though it could not be more different from Bolton's. They all judged her and thought themselves better than her. She had her family's reputation to battle with, drunken mother, murdering brother. It was hard for her to step out of the shadow of that and be counted for who she was herself, instead of paying for their mistakes, and only Marley Kelly had managed to do just that.

'Bloody hell, you look massive' Michaela said, breaking Weslie's train of thought. It was true Weslie had grown a considerable amount since they had broken up, and it was now obvious to anyone who looked at her that she was expecting.

'Oh, thanks' she said dryly, sitting down on the empty sofa, glad to be off her feet 'I feel like shit too' she muttered, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

'Wes, we're gonna go play basketball outside 'kay?' Paul said, kissing her on the forehead. She nodded and murmured 'mm-hmm' as he and Bolton left, with Philip Ryan following behind them.

'What's the matter' Danielle asked, sliding into the seat beside her 'got morning sickness?'

Weslie snorted 'I had morning, afternoon and evening sickness all over Christmas, and ironically it's calmed down now' she said. She found it ridiculous that her sickness had lessened as the start of term had been drawing closer.

'Urgh, sounds horrible' Danielle said, pulling an ugly look, as though imagining it herself.

'Definitely is' Weslie said, opening her eyes and leaning her head forwards again 'hopefully I'll be alright now though, my mum only ever had it for a few months with all of us' she smiled.

'Well' Aleesha said from where she was sitting on the counter in the small kitchen in the corner of the room. It was hardly a kitchen, as it had only a skin, a kettle, a tiny fridge and microwave, but the sixth formers still used it regularly 'how about some gossip to cheer you up?' she smirked.

'I like gossip!' Weslie smiled, suddenly perking up 'what've you got for me girls?' she asked, looking from Danielle to Aleesha, the two girls sharing knowing looks.

Danielle leaned forward, as did Weslie and Michaela, both eager to know what they knew 'guess who's got a boyfriend' she said, smirking.

Michaela and Weslie exchanged glances before shaking their heads 'No idea' Michaela said 'Who?'

Aleesha smirked too 'Ros McCain' she said, nodding.

Michaela looked up at her sceptically and started laughing, sitting back in her seat and believing they were trying to wind her up 'No way' she laughed 'you're taking the piss'

Danielle shook her head 'deadly serious' she muttered.

Michaela stopped laughing and sat up again, leaning forward 'Seriously?' Weslie asked, looking between the two best friends again.

Danielle nodded 'Serious, she told us this morning'

Michaela save her another sceptical look 'just because she says so doesn't mean-'

'It's Philip Ryan, he was with her!' Aleesha interrupted, jumping down from where she was sitting and taking the empty seat beside Michaela, who was staring at her in disbelief, open mouthed. Neither Weslie nor Michaela had expected that.

'No way!' Weslie said, eyes wide in shock 'when did that happen?'

'Well' Danielle started 'Ros said they kissed outside school on the last day of term, and they got together a few days later' she said in a very matter-of-fact manner.

'Who'd of thought it eh' Weslie said, settling back in her seat 'I never thought he'd actually make a move on her you know' she said to the other girls.

'Me either' Michaela said, shaking her head and smirking.

'I think they're really cute together' Danielle said, smiling.

'You're joking aren't you?' Aleesha scoffed 'he's like the dullest lad in school, and he's creepy, remember when he was stalking Flick Mellor?' she asked.

'Oh yeah' Danielle muttered, remembering 'but it is Ros, she's not exactly the most exciting person around'

Weslie laughed, then stopped abruptly, her hands going instantly to her stomach 'Oooh' she said, frowning.

'What's wrong? Are you okay?' Danielle asked, half up from her seat and ready to run for help, but a smile spread across Weslie's face when she felt it again.

'It's kicking me' she smiled, her hand clamped against the spot the baby had just kicked. She smiled even wider and looked up at Danielle 'The baby's kicking, feel here' she said, grabbing her hand and placing it on her stomach. Aleesha and Michaela both leaned in closer.

Danielle's expression softened and she grinned when she felt the tiny foot kick below her hand 'oh my god' she breathed 'wow, it feels amazing'

'Move over!' Aleesha exclaimed, shoving her friend aside and placing her own hand exactly where Danielle's had just been seconds before 'I want to feel it' she said, just as the baby kicked her too.

'Aww it's so cute' she cooed, smiling as the baby kicked her again.

'You wanna feel Michaela?' Weslie asked.

Michaela, who was smiling nodded and let Weslie place her hand, it was a few seconds before the baby kicked her and the others saw a smile spread across her face 'feels really weird' she laughed 'but really nice too' she got up and got back into her seat, leaving Weslie alone to feel her baby kick.

'It doesn't kick much, must like you lot' she smiled, running a hand over her bloated stomach.

'When will you find out what it is?' Aleesha asked.

'We can find out in a few weeks, but I don't want to know' Weslie said. She was keen on the idea of keeping the gender unknown until the baby was born, despite the fact it would make buying things for the baby harder.

'Got any names yet?' Michaela asked.

Weslie laughed and shook her head 'not a single one, I've no idea what we're going to call it'

'You could always call it Aleesha' the pretty dark skinned girl suggested with a cheeky smile.

Danielle laughed and shoved her friend as the bell rang and the four girls got up to leave for their first lesson of the day 'yeah, if they want to curse their baby before it even gets here!' she teased.


	52. Chapter 52

Weslie was sat at the back of Tom Clarkson's English lesson, working on an essay for her coursework. It was early February and the pressure on the sixth formers was starting to mount. Their work load had increased massively since they had come back from their Christmas break, and the imminent exams looming over them were making tensions between the older students run high.

The sixth form students were spending more and more time at school as the year was wearing on, and more often than not one or more of them could be found working in the library or common room even hours after school had finished.

The pressure was getting to Weslie perhaps more than it was to others, as she was also dealing with being five and a half months pregnant. She had a mountain of work to get through, which was harder than she thought adding to the fact she was feeling ill a lot of the time, and suddenly had a lot more admiration for Chlo, who had managed to pass her exams and get into uni whilst she was pregnant.

Weslie hadn't yet decided what she wanted to do once she left school. She knew she wanted to pursue a career in music, but she hadn't yet worked out how that would fit around being a mother, because her baby was now her priority. She knew Chlo was doing well at uni with the baby, but this was different. She had no idea what she'd do if she did become a successful musician and had to go on tour.

Adding to her worries was Paul and what he was going to do once he left school. She didn't think he even knew what he wanted to do with himself. She knew he didn't want to go to university, but neither of them had any idea what kind of career he was interested in.

There was a light knock on the door and the class looked up to watch Christopher Mead letting himself in 'can I have a quick word with Weslie please?' he asked Tom, who nodded.

Weslie frowned and got up slowly from her seat as Mr Mead said 'can you come with me for a minute please Wes?' Paul reached out and grabbed her arm, looking worried 'Don't worry, you're not in trouble' he added.

She passed Paul her things and followed him out of the room. He led her down the corridor and into Kim Campbell's empty office where he pulled out on of the cushioned chairs for her to sit in. She smiled as she did, glad for the extra support under her back.

'I just wanted to have a talk about what you want to do once you leave here' he said, perching himself on the edge of Kim's desk. It was now common knowledge around the school that Kim too, was pregnant, but a little less pregnant than Weslie.

'Well' she said 'I'd like my figure back for a start' she joked.

Chris laughed and nodded 'well I expected that, but have you thought about going to uni, or going into work or anything like that?' he asked.

She shook her head 'To be honest Mr Mead, I haven't thought about it much, the baby takes up all my worries'

He nodded his head 'completely understandable. But I think you need to start considering what you want to do with your life, for the sake of your baby too' he said, gesturing down at her stomach.

She nodded 'I know, but all I want to do is make music, it's all I've ever wanted to do' she said with a sense of longing in her voice.

'I know, I've been told all about your passion for singing' He smiled. She hadn't performed much since starting her last year at Waterloo Road. She had sung a few times in music lessons, but had since fallen pregnant and had been too busy concentrating on that and her studies to find any time for extra performances 'but I think you should consider applying to university' he suggested.

Weslie frowned 'I don't really want to go to uni sir'

'I know you've got your heart set on singing Weslie, but making it as a singer might be a lot harder than you think' he sighed 'I just think it's a good idea to have something to fall back on'

She nodded 'I know what you mean, but I could go to uni at any time, I really want to do this now'

'Okay' he nodded 'but at least think about it okay?' he said, helping her to her feet as the bell rang for break time 'I'm running an advanced uni preparation scheme you could benefit from, it's for our more academic students, but I think with your marks, you'd be perfect for it' she'd already heard about the scheme, Michaela had not been happy she didn't have the choice of being on it, and had been passing around a petition for others to sign to get them to open up the scheme.

'Who's on it?' she asked as he opened the door and held it open for her.

'So far only Ros and Karla, but I don't expect there to be that many to be honest' he said.

Weslie nodded and said 'Okay, well, I'll think about it' and ducked out into the flow of students passing.

…

'Ohh, well we've done it!' Michaela exclaimed in response to a notice that had been pinned up on the board in the common room, informing the sixth formers that the scheme had been opened up, but to get in, they would have to pass an interview. The others knew it had only been opened up because Michaela had lead a protest against the selectivity of the scheme 'look this is exactly what we wanted, the APU open to anyone' she said, though no one was really listening to her, and they were all going about whatever business they had.

'It's just political correctness, box ticking alright? They're wasting their time' Philip Ryan said as he stood waiting for the kettle to boil. Philip was another of the students who had been asked to be on the scheme, and was very excited about the idea of gong to uni with Ros.

'Yeah, too right they are. Come on, we'll all do it, it'll take 'em all week to get through us' she suggested to the uninterested sixth formers. Weslie looked up from a baby magazine she was reading and took the cup of tea Danielle was holding out for her, completely uninterested.

'Hmm, I don't think so' Bolton muttered, more interested in the child's puzzle he had found discarded in the common room.

'Nope' Paul said, shaking his head 'definitely not me, sorry'

'Well you will won't you?' she asked Danielle hopefully 'we can't stop now'

'Ooh no' Danielle grimaced 'I hate interviews, they're scary'

'Wes?' she asked, desperate for someone to back her up.

'Sorry' she said lowering the cup she had been drinking heavily from, without looking up from the article she was reading on breast feeding 'I've got enough to worry about without having to apply for uni'

'Looks like you'll be representing the under privileged alone' Philip teased, taking a seat by the window, fresh cup of tea in his hand.

'It's just talking' she reasoned 'all we've got to do is give 'em a hard time' she said, though still, very few people were interested.

'Hmm, no thanks' Weslie said, getting to her feet and placing her half empty cup on the side by the kettle, leaning forward and bowing her head, rubbing her stomach.

'You okay gorgeous?' Paul asked, getting to his feet and rubbing her back.

She smile weakly and nodded 'Yeah I'm fine, I just feel sick again' she mumbled, standing up and taking hold of his hand 'come on, I need some air'

…

When Weslie and Paul walked into the canteen later that day with Bolton behind them, they were shocked to find the room looked completely different. The tables had been laid out differently to how they normally where and had been grouped together in sets of fours, with eight seats, two on each side. They were also covered in table cloths and each had a small vase holding flowers sat in the middle.

Weslie was highly confused and was still looking over the room as Paul dragged her over to the serving hatch, only to find it was completely empty 'Where's the grub?' Paul exclaimed to Rachel Mason, who was stood by the doors with a tall blond man they didn't know, but suspected was the new head chef, Adam Fleet.

'It'll be out in a minute, listen we're doing something a little bit different today so everyone take a seat and we will get started' Mr Fleet said, pointing to the tables. Bolton and Paul exchanged perplexed glances before taking seats at the nearest table.

It took a few minutes, but eventually everyone was seated 'Alright ladies, shall we?' Mr Fleet called once every seat was filled. Behind him, Rose Kelly and the other kitchen assistants pulled out the trolleys which were holding lunch. They placed a large shepherd's pie and a dish full of fresh vegetables on each table, along with a jug of orange squash.

'Well don't just look at it, get stuck in!' Mr Fleet called, laughing as most people looked around, unsure about what to do.

Bolton took charge at their table and began dishing the pie out to himself, Weslie, Paul and the younger students that had taken seats with them. Paul then took it upon himself to serve the vegetables, which Bolton wasn't happy about, and the two started to squabble over it, much to Weslie's amusement.

'Gimme the spoon man' Bolton said, trying to snatch it out of Paul's hand as Paul lifted it up and held it out of reach 'Gimme the spoon!'

'Behave!' Rose Kelly snapped, storming over to them and slapping the back of Paul's hand, taking the spoon from him and doing the serving herself 'you're about to be a father, grow up' she grumbled. Weslie hid her laughter behind her hand.

The room was full of chattering and the clanging of cutlery on plates as the students and staff ate the lunch provided. Mr Fleet hovered around the room, watching them enjoying their food and happy with the friendly, happy atmosphere in the room, which was exactly what he had been hoping to gain by serving lunch this way and asking the staff to mix themselves in with the pupils. Weslie looked over and saw Michaela wearing a worried expression. She had passed the interview to get into the APU scheme, but there was to be a written exam that afternoon.

'Not enjoying the food?' A voice asked, startling Weslie. She looked up from her plate, where she had been toying with her food and saw Adam Fleet stood beside her, smiling.

'Oh, no, the food's fine, I just don't feel too well' she said, smiling weakly and leaning back so he could see her stomach.

'Ahh I see' he said nodding 'fair enough. I can rustle you up something different if you like?' he offered, gesturing to the kitchen behind him 'I don't mind' he smiled.

She smiled and shook her head, feeling very touched by his offer and said 'No it's okay, I'd only waste that too, I'm really not in the mood to eat today'

He nodded 'Okay, but try to at eat some of it please? You need a good balanced meal more than everyone else here, your baby needs a healthy mum' he smiled. Weslie laughed and nodded too.

'Thanks sir' she said 'I will'

...

Weslie decided to stay behind after school with Paul, to watch him and Bolton in basketball practice. She had only stayed because he had bugged her to stay and watch him, wanting to show off what he could to do to her, but she was pleasantly surprised to find it a lot more entertaining than she expected.

Sam Kelly had also turned up for the session and the chemistry between her and Bolton was obvious. Weslie smirked to herself as she sat on the grass and watched them. Noticing the way they looked at each other as often as they could, and always had smiles on their faces when they did.

It was obvious for anyone to see that they had feelings for each other, and Weslie thought they should just get it over with and get together. But she knew Bolton too well to think that would happen anytime soon. She knew he was still very aware of his image around the school, and whilst flirting with Sam was okay, he'd never take it any further, no matter how much he wanted to.

It was easy for Bolton to dismiss his flirtatious behaviour with Sam if anyone ever pulled him up about it, he could just claim it was nothing more than that, a bit of fun, nothing else. She was just another girl after all, and he flirted with dozens of them, so what made Sambuca Kelly any different?

'Did you see Bolton and Sam?' Weslie asked Paul as they were walking to her car, Paul still in his basketball gear, and looking _very_ nice as far as Weslie was concerned.

Paul scoffed 'course I did, everyone did' he said.

'He'll never make a move on her' Weslie noted. It was a shame really, she liked Sam and thought she and Bolton would be good together.

'I know' Paul agreed 'it's Sam Kelly though, she's a bit of a scuzzer' he said, pulling a face.

'Paul!' she exclaimed, slapping his arm 'you can't say that' she scolded him, though she was fighting the urge to laugh.

Paul laughed and grabbed her hips, spinning her around to face him 'Oh come on' he said, rolling his eyes 'like you weren't thinking it' he said, pushing her up against the back of her car, his hands drifting down to her backside and her stomach pressed against his.

'Yeah' she mumbled, smiling as he was pressing his lips to hers in between every word she spoke 'But – you – didn't – have – to –go – and – say – it' she said, giggling between kisses.

'I know' he muttered, moving in to deepen their kiss 'but I've done it now' he smirked, kissing her passionately and wishing her bloated stomach wasn't stuck between them.

_I know Adam arrived after the APU scheme, but I don't want to do that episode, so I thought I'd combine the two. I have no idea what career Paul should pursue, so any ideas on that would be much appreciated. I'm actually getting a little sad writing these chapters now, knowing I only have a few left, I'm going to feel lost when I'm finished! Hope you enjoyed =]_

_p.s, how bad do you wanna know the baby's gender?_


	53. Chapter 53

'Hello Weslie, it's nice to meet you' a pretty redhead nurse said as she, Paul and Bolton all shuffled into the room. Weslie smiled and dumped her things on an empty chair, then hoisted herself, with some difficulty, onto the bed. She was a considerable amount bigger than she was when she had her last scan, which had been just four weeks previously.

'How're you feeling?' she asked. They were in a private clinic in Manchester, having 3D scans of their baby done, which Weslie's father was paying for as a late Christmas present.

Weslie shrugged 'Alright I guess. I don't feel sick as much as I used to'

The nurse smiled and nodded 'A lot of women find the sickness lessens as they get further into their pregnancy' she said, turning on the ultra sound machine and squeezing the blue gel out of the tube and onto Weslie's stomach.

'She's killing my back though' Paul grumbled 'she takes up most the bed lately' he complained, winking at her. Bolton sniggered and clapped him on the back.

'It'll all be worth it when you have your baby to hold' the nurse said 'let's get started' and she switched the screen on.

'Now, let's have a look' she said, adjusting the transducer. The baby was a lot bigger and clearer than it was last time, as though it were closer to the front of the screen. They could clearly see its nose and mouth protruding out from its face, which was now facing them. As well as a tiny little arm held up at the side of its face. It was a thousand times clearer than the other scans, and they could even make out their baby's features.

'No way man' Bolton muttered, a look of awe on his face, leaning closer to the screen 'you can see its fingers and everything!' he exclaimed, blown away by what he was seeing.

'These scans are always really clear, my sister had some done when she was expecting her second, you could see everything, they're definitely worth the money' the nurse nodded.

'It's gorgeous babe' Paul whispered, from where he was stood next to her. She looked up at him and smile. He smiled and winked, then kissed the side of her head. He didn't want her to know, but as much as he loved seeing his baby up on the screen, it also terrified him just as much.

It was getting closer now, and every day it drew nearer and nearer, Paul got more and more scared. He didn't know how to be a father, he didn't even know if he'd be any good for a baby. What if he was a bad father? And what if the baby didn't like him? All these worries were swimming around inside his skull constantly. Then he had to consider how it was going to change his life. This wasn't going to be a short term thing; he was going to be responsible for this life until the day he died. It was all going to change when it arrived; he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with his friends. And he and Weslie wouldn't get much time alone as they used to. He knew the days of lie ins were long gone and he'd have to grow up a lot faster than he wanted to.

But what scared him most was the impact he would have on the baby. What if he raised it wrong? What if did it all wrong and messed his own kid up, how could he live with himself then? He had no idea what a baby or a child needed, he didn't know what he was doing, and he didn't think he could do it.

'Umm?' the nurse said questioningly looking at Bolton and Paul once they were done and Weslie was waiting for her scans.

Weslie laughed 'Paul' she said nodding at him 'is my boyfriend and the baby's dad. Bolton' she said, nodding to the other boy 'is a close friend of ours, and he's going to be the baby's godfather'

'Ooh, I see' she said, nodding 'I wondered, you see most girls bring their mum when they come' she smiled.

Weslie smiled awkwardly 'mine isn't exactly speaking to me' she explained.

'Oh, I'm sorry' the nurse said, smiling sadly, and pressing the matter no further.

…

Bolton had a smirk on his face as Weslie pulled into the car park outside the sports shop in which Sambuca Kelly was currently on her work experience placement. She looked over at Paul, who looked back at her, wearing a smirk of his own, they knew why Bolton had asked them to come here on their way back to school.

They got out of the car, which Weslie locked, throwing a resentful glare at the bag of new maternity clothes sitting on the backseat as she did, and they walked over to the shop.

'I knew he'd want to come here' Weslie whispered to Paul, her arms crossed over her chest, resting on top of her stomach, as they strolled down to the top of the end of the shop, where Bolton had spotted Sam.

'He obviously fancies her' Paul sniggered, nudging Weslie to watch the way Bolton was striding over to her.

'Come on' Weslie said, quickening her pace 'lets see how this goes' she smirked.

'Y'alright Sam' Bolton said as he approached her and she walked towards him, accompanied by Lauren Andrews, who was supposed to be on her own placement 'I was hoping you could sort us out with some of that staff discount you was talking about'

'I can only give you 20% off, like I said' Sam said with the air of someone worried to let him down.

'Yeah' Bolton said, nodding that 20% was fine.

'Shouldn't you three be at school?' Lauren demanded.

'Shouldn't you be at work experience?' Paul mocked, putting on a posh voice.

'Nahh, we had a scan and a free period' Weslie said.

'Anyway' Bolton said, interrupting 'we've got a match tonight and our kits starting to look a bit old school. I was hoping you could sort us out with something a bit fresh' he said.

'Look at these mate' Paul, who had been admiring the shorts on the rack closest to them said 'they're well mint!' he exclaimed.

Bolton took them from him and turned them over to see the price. His eyes widened when he saw the price tag 'Yeah, and you gotta be well minted to afford 'em as well' he exclaimed 'can't afford nuttin' in here, even with the 20%' he said, crestfallen.

'There's some cheaper stuff down … if you wanna…,' Sam said, trailing off hopelessly as Bolton shook his head.

'Nahh, leave it' he said as Paul and Weslie turned to leave 'Maybe next time'

'Maybe next time' she said as he followed his friends. They had not even gotten to the door before the boys spotted a huge display of children sized footballs, and suddenly, Paul became inspired.

He and Bolton looked at each other, nodding and smirking 'Yeees mate' Paul said, dropping his bag and skipping over to the balls, picking one up 'Volleyball' he said, as he threw the ball up into the hair and hit it towards Bolton, the two boys batting the ball between themselves.

'Oh do you have to?' Weslie grumbled, her feet hurt and she wanted to get back to school. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest again, watching as the security guard fumbled around between the boys, trying in vain to retrieve the ball and stop their impromptu game. Eventually the boys grew bored and threw the ball to the security guard 'alright, keep your wig on' Paul said, mocking him.

'You big baby' Weslie sniggered as Paul held his hand out for hers and they started to walk out of the shop. They both stopped dead and looked up as Bolton was half way out of the door and had set the alarms off.

'I knew it' The security guard said smugly 'come with me'

'I have done anything!' Bolton insisted, just as shocked and Paul and Weslie, who both knew he hadn't taken anything.

'Open your bag then' the security guard suggested, the same smug smile still on his face.

'It's okay' Sam said, stepping forward to defend Bolton 'I've got this one' But Bolton had other ideas, and whilst the security guard had been distracted by Sam, he made a break for the door, Sam and another security guard taking chase.

Weslie and Paul both watched it shock, before the other security guard turned on them. Paul held his hands up to protest his innocence 'I didn't do it! We haven't done nothing' he exclaimed in a slightly higher pitch voice than usual.

'What's under your shirt?' He demanded of Weslie, ignoring Paul.

'My stomach!' she exclaimed, astounded he would ask such a thing.

'I'll need to see proof of that madam' he said. Paul made to go for him, but Weslie stuck her arm out to hold him back.

'You'll see no such thing' she said, shaking with the effort of keeping calm, inside she was bubbling with anger.

'Well Ma'am, I don't recall seeing you come in _pregnant_' he said, saying the last sarcastically 'so whatever's under your shirt, you can either give it back, or I'll have call the police'

She felt Paul move again and tightened her grip on the sleeve on his jacket 'You wanna say that again mate?' He spat 'I'll give you another reason to call the police' Paul threatened.

'I've got this Paul' she hissed at him, then turned back to the security guard 'Now, listen here' she said straightening herself up and bringing herself to her full height, wanting to intimidate him, taking a step closer to him, making him take a step back from her 'I'm seven months pregnant, and I'm on no mood to be threatened by someone like you on your little power trip, now you can either get out of my damn way, or you can stay there and we'll see how long you're smirking for when I sue you for slander' as she was speaking, the smirk had faded from his face 'now which shall it be?'

He said nothing for a second, and seemed to be considering if she meant her threat. But after thinking for a moment, he stepped aside and left the way to the doorway clear. She smirked as they walked past him and out to her car 'you should've let me smack him babe, he can say shit like that about you' Paul raged.

'He's not worth the effort Paul, he's a nobody who's got himself a bit of power' she shrugged, unlocking the car 'give Bolton a call, see if he needs us to pick him up' she said as they got in.

'He's not answering' Paul said a while later, after trying his friends phone three time 'maybe they've eloped off together' he suggested, making Weslie laugh. He loved the sound of her laughter, but felt a stab of guilt when he looked down at her stomach fearfully.

_You should've had this yesterday really, but I went to see Everton play, and I was shattered when I got home, as it was a late kick off, so I went for a sleep._

_I must confess the stolen things under the shirt isn't all my own idea. It happened to my brother's girlfriend years ago when she was pregnant with their eldest, but she was accused of stealing a frozen chicken, it was too hilarious not to include._

_I confess I've been cruel, I was never going to tell you the baby's gender, but you'll find out when you find out :] hope you enjoyed the chapter. _


	54. Chapter 54

Weslie walked miserably down the art corridor, hardly watching where she was going. Today the head from another school had come to see Christopher Mead, in hopes of the two schools forming a sports partnership, allowing Waterloo Road access to the other schools sports facilities. So naturally, the staff had most of the pupils outside and concentrating on showing Camilla, the head of the other school, what Waterloo Road could do when it come to sports, which also meant, Weslie couldn't participate as she was only 6 weeks away from giving birth.

It was getting her down. Her feet and her back hurt almost all the time, and her stomach had gotten that big that she couldn't lean over it to put her own shoes on anymore. Her sickness had stopped, but she was feeling exhausted all the time and constantly craved grilled chicken and rice, which thankfully, Adam Fleet was only too happy to make for her most days of the school week, though he always insisted on adding steamed vegetables to her plate.

Now, being unable to go outside and spend the day doing sports with her friends was only making her more miserable, Paul was outside playing football with Bolton and the others, and that afternoon they'd be playing basketball, and Weslie had nothing to do but spend the day studying for her A levels, which for her, started in just a week.

'Watch it!' a year eight boy spat as he barged past Weslie, who dropped her bag and clutched the nearest door frame to stop herself from falling backwards.

'Oi! You watch it!' she said someone call from behind her, taking hold of her elbow and helping her to stay on her feet. She turned around and found it was Finn Sharkey, who had only been at Waterloo Road a matter of months.

'Thanks' she muttered, with a very strained smile.

'No problem' he said, smiling widely at her. She eyed him a little suspiciously, she knew he already had a reputation for being a trouble maker her.

She groaned when she spotted her bag on the floor in front of her, and holding the bottom of her stomach, attempted to bend over to pick it up 'I'll get that' Finn said, picking it up and holding it out for once she had straightened herself up.

'Thank you' she sighed, rubbing the bottom of her stomach, which felt horribly bloated.

'Don't worry about it' he smiled as they both set off walking again 'how far are you?' he asked, eyeing her stomach.

'Seven and a half months' she grumbled, it felt like a lifetime. Finn looked her up and down, admiring the fact that she had gained no baby weight like some women did; she merely had a bump, nothing else.

'You look good on it though' he said.

Weslie laughed 'Thanks' she said 'thankfully I haven't put any baby weight on, I feel bloody awful though' she laughed.

'Not long left though' he said, trying to cheer her up, she didn't look very happy.

She smiled again 'when you're the size of a house, the days drag' she said.

'I take it'll you'll be going on leave from school soon then?' he asked.

She nodded 'Three weeks, I need to sit my exams first' she said. They both stopped as they had come to the main doors 'I'm off outside, thanks for helping me out' she smiled.

He nodded 'Not a problem at all, good luck with everything' he smiled as he jogged off towards the canteen and Weslie waddled her way outside. Most of the pupils outside were grouped together practicing football skills. She spotted Paul over the far end of the field and started making her way over to him. Stood near by was Christopher Mead and Camilla, the head of the other school, who both looked up as Weslie approached. Weslie saw Camilla give Mr Mead a surprised look when she saw Weslie's stomach.

'Ahh, this is Weslie' Mr Mead said, as she approached 'and yes, as you can see, she is pregnant'

Weslie looked away and blushed 'Yes I did notice' Camilla said, looking down at Weslie, wearing an unreadable expression.

'Now, here at Waterloo Road, we do understand and acknowledge that teen pregnancies do happen' Mr Mead was saying, Weslie smirked, knowing he was using her as an opportunity to play up the schools pastoral care system 'and as it has obviously happened to one of our pupils, we choose not to ignore the fact, but to offer Weslie our full support' he said.

'Do you feel that way too?' she asked Weslie, who was waving to Paul.

'Oh yeah, they've been great' she smiled nodding. A moment later, the bell rang for lunch and the students all started to file inside. Paul jogged over to Weslie and took her by the hand, the two of them walking slowly inside.

'What was Mead saying?' he asked, nodding towards him.

'Oh you know' she shrugged 'just making the school sound good, saying they're being supportive and all that' she said, waving her hand in a very vague sort of way.

'Are they?' he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders 'I guess, I can't say I've needed much help really' Paul smiled and slipped his arm over her shoulders, kissing the side of her head.

'You too stubborn to accept any help is what you mean' he mocked. She glared at him. He wished they had help.

…

Later that day she was sat outside again watching Paul and Bolton playing basketball with other students. Amongst them was Sambuca Kelly, who was acting very hostile towards Bolton, who had been ignoring her for the last few weeks. After the incident at the sports shop, they had disappeared for a few hours, only to turn up at school that afternoon, Bolton admitting that he had stolen the shorts.

They had appeared to have been having a tender moment outside Mason's office before Paul rudely interrupted them before Weslie could stop him. Paul had joked that he thought Bolton and Sam had eloped together, which was something Bolton denied, implying he could do better than her, and Weslie was guessing that was why Sam was pissed with him.

Weslie sat on the steps in front of the door, drinking a smoothie Ruby Fry had given to her and watching them play. She smiled to herself as Paul had the ball, bouncing it around his feet blocking one of the younger kids from taking it off him, before passing on to a team mate, where it was intercepted by Sam Kelly.

'Easy Sam!' Paul exclaimed when she nearly knocked Bolton to the ground after he tripped her 'she can't keep her hands off you mate' he joked. Others around them laughed.

'You skid mark' Sam spat at Bolton.

'Alright, it was an accident' he said in an attempt to defuse the situation ''ere y'ar cut it out' he said. Sam turned on the spot and threw the ball viciously at Bolton.

'Leave it Sam!' Paul snapped.

'What's your problem?' Bolton demanded, his temper rising.

Sam stepped forwards, getting up in his face 'what's my problem? Like you don't know!' she snapped. Weslie got to her feet and walked down a further few steps, Adam Fleet held his arm out to hold her back in case the situation became violent.

'No, I don't know Kelly!' Bolton said.

'Oh, that's it; I'm just another Kelly am I? Just a scuzzer you can't be seen with, let alone kiss me!' she snapped.

Paul's jaw dropped 'You kissed her?' he demanded, unable to believe Bolton would ever go that far with her and risk ruining his reputation 'mate! Why'd you kiss her?' he exclaimed, on the verge of laughter.

'I didn't' Bolton said whilst Christopher Mead restored order and got the game back into play 'shut up man!' he snapped at Paul, who was laughing loudly. They continued playing, but it was obvious from the atmosphere and body language of both Sam and Bolton, that this was very far from over.

'Stay away from yeah?' Bolton said to her.

She shoved him backwards 'Stay away from me? Don't you mean don't embarrass you in front of your mates?' she snapped, up in his face again as Mr Mead called halftime.

'Too good for you anyways' Denzil Kelly said, storming over and shoving Bolton backwards. Bolton stepped forwards again, eyeing Denzil up, who did the same to him.

'Alright, leave it out' Weslie said, coming between Bolton and Denzil, pushing them apart. They separated and went to get smoothies from Mrs Fry and Mr Fleet.

'You Kelly's are all the same man' Bolton muttered as Weslie shoved him away from Denzil and he went to get himself a drink 'look at you' Sambuca turned on the spot and threw her drink all over Bolton, where it splattered across his shirt.

'Oi!' Mr Mead called, storming over.

'Whaaaat!' Paul exclaimed laughing again.

'You two, cooler, now!' Mr Mead snapped, before sending the rest of them inside to change.

…

'What do you think of this?' Weslie asked Paul as the two of them strolled idly round Mothercare. She held up a tiny lilac and white stripped baby grow for him to look at.

'Hmm' he said, shrugging his shoulders and looking uninterestingly around the shop.

'You could at least pretend to be interested' she snapped at him, slamming it back down on the shelf beside her.

'I am interested!' he protested, turning to face her 'what do you want me to say? It's hardly anything special Wes, we've already got a hundred of them anyway, like we need anymore' he argued.

'In case you didn't realise Paul, babies go through these like nobodies business, so we probably do need more' she snarled.

'Get it then!' he exclaimed 'Jeeze, why bother asking if you already know you're going to get it' he complained.

'Because this is your baby too, forgive me for considering you might like a say in what we buy for it' she snapped, storming out of the shop. Paul grunted with frustration and took off after her.

'What's wrong?' he asked, sounding uninterested.

She snorted 'are you really that oblivious?'

He sighed, his patience with her wearing thing 'obviously, so just tell me what the damn problem is' he spat.

She stopped and turned to face him 'You! You're just not interested in anything to do with this baby!' she shouted, thankful they were out in the car park and there were few people around.

'That's 'cause it's all you ever talk about!' he yelled 'It's every hour of the day, I'd like to talk about something else, just once!'

'Our baby is coming in six weeks! We don't have time for anything else!' she shouted, furious with him 'If you think this is bad now, it's going to be even worse when it's born, so just suck it up and get used to it!' she snapped, yanking her car door open and getting in, slamming it shut behind her. She sighed and leaned forwards, leaning her head under her hands on the steering wheel, covering her eyes and starting to cry.

Paul sighed and took a minute to calm himself down, then got in beside her. He leaned across and took her by the shoulders, pulling her over to him and cradling her head in his chest 'I'm sorry Wes' he mumbled 'this is just, really scary' he admitted.

She sat up and wiped her eyes 'I know, I'm scared too, but it's happening now, and we've just got to get on with it'

He nodded 'I know, I'm really sorry' he smiled at her.

She smiled and shook her head, then started her car up 'come on' she muttered 'lets get Chinese food and go home'


	55. Chapter 55

Weslie had two weeks left before she left school for maternity leave, was half way through her A levels, and was very, very tired of being pregnant.

She sat in the hall, listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall behind her and absent mindedly tapping the side of her foot on the leg of her table, chewing on the end of her pen. She had just minutes left in her English Literature exam and was anxious to get it over with, as going over her answers only ever made her doubt them.

She could hear and see Steph Haydock pacing around the room, checking no one was cheating and keeping things in order. She'd already spoken to Weslie once, making sure she knew if she needed to leave anytime she could. In front of her she could see the back of Karla's head, as they were sat in alphabetical order. She could hear Karla's pen scratching eagerly away on her exam sheet.

She looked around and saw Danielle Harker sat a row across from her, done with her exam and also looking around the room, apparently bored. Weslie closed her eyes and bowed her head, using her hands to block the light away from her eyes, listening whilst the minutes ticked by and at long last Steph Haydock called 'Pens down please'

Weslie looked up, exhaling and leaning back in her seat, dropping her pen onto the desk in front of her. She looked over at Danielle who mouthed 'Thank god for that' to her.

Weslie nodded and mouthed back 'Feels like I've been in here for hours' Danielle's eyes widened and she nodded her agreement. Steph and another teacher Weslie didn't know where now walking around taking in the exam papers before they let the students go.

'How did it go?' Steph whispered to Weslie as she picked her paper up.

Weslie shrugged 'So, so' she smiled.

Steph smiled and said 'I bet you smashed it' before moving on.

Outside, Paul echoed Steph's question 'How'd it go?' he asked, taking her by the hand as the two of them started to walk away.

'Not too bad' she said 'I ran out of steam towards the end' she grimaced.

'Don't worry about it babe' he said, kissing her quickly 'you won't need literature when you're a singer' he said, full of confidence of her being a famous musician.

She laughed loudly 'True, but I quite like lit' she said, she had always considered a career in literature if she didn't make it in the music industry 'oh' she added, when she felt her phone vibrate in her inside pocket and let go of Paul's hand to retrieve it.

'Urgh' she groaned, rolling her eyes and exhaling 'it's my aunt Sheila, she wants us to go see her on Saturday' she grumbled, stuffing her phone angrily into her bag 'fantastic, cause we're not busy enough as it is this weekend' she complained. They already had an antenatal appointment, two other people to visit and needed to shop for a cot.

Paul swallowed hard and hung his head. He stopped walking and reached out to take her hands, stopping her in her tracks, she turned to look at him 'what's wrong?' she asked, getting an awful feeling her stomach, she knew him well enough to know he wasn't happy.

'Listen Wes' he muttered, feeling sick with nerves and unable to look her in the eye 'I'm really, really sorry' he said.

She tightened her grip on his fingers 'what is it?' she asked, though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

'I can't do this' he said looking up.

She took a step backwards from him 'what do you mean?' she whispered, though it was obvious.

'This' he said, motioning to the two of them 'I can't do it anymore, I'm really sorry, I just can't, it's too much' Weslie backed away from him again, shaking her head, her heart breaking and completely unable to believe that Paul of all people would ever do something like this to her 'I can't take the pressure Wes' he continued, running his hands through his hair, all his anxieties threatening to burst out of him 'I don't know how to do this, it's all the time, we have to be somewhere, or doing something all the time, it never ends, I can't do it!' he exclaimed, panicking and trying to justify what he was doing.

'You have to do it' she argued 'just like I do' He shook his head and fought to keep his eyes trained on her, looking at her face was agony, he didn't want to do this to her, but he felt he had no choice, he couldn't be a father, he'd only let her and their baby down.

'No, you're better at me than this' he said 'you can cope, you can handle the pressure. I can't. I'll only make things worse for you and the baby, I don't know what I'm doing here, this is for the best' he sighed, feeling sick and disgusted with himself.

'Don't you dare try and turn this into some fucking favour!' she snapped, shoving him backwards 'this is abandoning us, nothing more! YOU COWARD!' her hands were shaking and tears were threatening to poor from her eyes. She wanted to lash out at Paul, to hurt him and make him understand just how much he was hurting her and just how much she needed him.

'I'm not a coward!' he shouted 'I'M TRYING TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT!'

'NO!' she yelled, shaking her head furiously 'you're doing what's convenient to you. Go then! You walk away whilst you can, 'cause I haven't got that option, so just go Paul, I'll do this without you!' She screamed, furious and heartbroken. They looked at each other for a moment longer, both panting, before Paul muttered 'I'm so sorry Weslie' and turned, walking away.

She stood and watched him walk away, walk away from her and their child, leaving her more alone then she'd ever felt in her whole life. As she did she felt those tears creeping into her eyes again and start to leak down her face, pouring fast, down her cheeks and to her chin. Her chest started to heave and she stumbled backwards, the backs of her feet hitting the stairs behind her. She dropped onto the stairs and buried her face in her hands, sobbing her agony out into her palms.

She had no idea how long she had been sitting alone on the stairs before Adam came across her. All she knew was she was crying harder and longer than she had ever done, every single sob being torn directly from her heart and ripping its way out of her body, ensuring maximum pain and suffering as it did. Her whole world seemed to be falling apart around her, spiralling out of control and beyond any point of repair. Paul was all she wanted, all she had ever wanted for a long time, and losing him was worse than she had ever imagined it would be. And to know she was carrying his baby only made her pain worse.

'Ey what's going on here?' Adam Fleet exclaimed, rushing over to her and sitting beside her on the stairs, pulling her into a hug she needed more than she could explain 'what's wrong?'

'P-Paul!' she stammered, still sobbing hard, her chest heaving 'h-he's left m-me!' she cried.

'Hey, come on shh, you need to calm down Weslie' he said, stroking her hair and rubbing her arm 'its okay just calm down, breathe nice and slow okay? Come on, big deep breath'

Weslie nodded and took a long slow, shuddering breath in, trying to calm herself down, refusing to cry anymore. It took him almost ten minutes, but eventually Adam calmed her down and she stopped crying, though she was still shaking.

'Why don't we go up to Miss Mason's office and get you a cup of tea eh?' he asked once she was calm. She nodded and let him help her to her feet, then lead her up the stairs and to the head's office. He knocked lightly on the door before opening it 'I'm afraid you're needed Miss Mason' he said, leading Weslie inside.

'Oh no, what's happened?' she asked, looking down at Weslie sympathetically.

'Paul's broke up with me' she whispered, letting Rachel take her over to the sofa on which she had first told Paul they were to be parents.

She nodded, then looked up at Adam 'Mr Fleet could you go fetch Bolton please?' she asked. He nodded and left 'would you like to tell me what happened?' she asked once they were alone. Weslie nodded and recited the tale of the fight she and Paul had had.

'Oh dear' Rachel sighed once she was done 'I really thought Paul was in this for good' she said.

Weslie nodded 'so did I'

…

'S'alright Wes cause you don't have to do it alone' Bolton said, sitting beside Weslie, who had dried her face and had a steaming hot cup of tea in her hands 'I'll help you out whenever you need me to, I'll change nappies and clean up sick and everything innit' he said, giving her an encouraging smile.

'I know' she muttered smiling weakly, still unable to think straight.

'And you never know' Bolton said, his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder 'He might change his mind soon, he's probably just freaked out by the baby and everything' he suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

'I'm freak out too' she admitted 'but I can't just walk away like he can' she sighed. She hated the fact that she couldn't walk away like Paul had, and was starting to wish she had never gotten pregnant, because if she hadn't, she'd still have Paul.

'Yeah but its Langers innit, he aint a fighter like us' he joked, giving her shoulder a soft tap with his fist that wasn't around her shoulders, making her laugh 'just let him cool off for a bit, he'll come back' he said.

She looked up at him 'and what if he doesn't?' she asked.

'Then it's his loss, seriously, he's an idiot to throw this away' he said in a serious tone he rarely ever used. Weslie looked away and nodded, feeling like she was the one who had lost everything 'it's not your fault, and it's his mistake'

She sighed 'but I'm suffering for it'

_I'm sorry! I really hated writing this one, I actually felt awful doing it, but it needs to be done. Don't hate me for too long okay? _


	56. Chapter 56

_I'm going to try and get another out today, I'm sure I'll manage it._

After breaking up with Paul, Weslie considered taking her maternity leave early in order to avoid him, but it didn't take Bolton long to convince her otherwise. She agreed that she wouldn't let him get to her anymore than he already had, and that there was no way she was going to let him ruin her A levels. So she was back in school just two days later. 

Naturally, the news of their break up had got around the school in a matter of minutes and a lot of the sixth formers where openly displaying signs of hostility towards Paul, who had become public enemy number one with the girls. Bolton was still friends with him, though he greatly disapproved of what he had done, and was more than happy to frequently remind him of that fact.

Paul was utterly conflicted and disgusted with himself, though he was doing an excellent job of hiding it and pretending everything was fine with him. In truth, he missed Weslie, he missed her so much insides hurt constantly and he knew he needed to be with her. But he also knew that things had changed, and he couldn't be with her anymore, for there was just no possible way he could be a father.

His attitude angered Weslie, who still felt as though she could easily hit him. She hated the way he was walking around the school like nothing had ever happened, like one of this classmates wasn't heavily pregnant with his child, and she couldn't understand how he could act so normally. She thought about it a lot and came to realise that for him, everything was normal. It was obvious now, he'd wanted rid of her for months, probably since he found out she was pregnant.

Of course that was how he felt, he'd gotten what he'd wanted from her, they'd slept together and now he didn't need her anymore, so she was expandable. It wasn't an issue to him that they were about to be parents, after all it was her carrying, her who'd have to give birth, and then obviously her left to raise it. And it occurred to her, that she probably never really did know Paul.

'Are you okay?' Danielle asked gently, sliding into the seat beside Weslie, who had been starring into the bottom of her empty mug for the last twenty minutes.

'Hmm?' she asked, looking up 'Oh yeah, I'm fine' she lied, smiling weakly.

'It really is his loss you know' she said softly, giving Weslie an encouraging smile. Danielle and Aleesha had been spending a lot of time with Weslie over the last two days, as she was now either alone or just with Bolton.

She sighed deeply and nodded, looking down at her mug again 'I know, but it still hurts' she muttered.

…

Weslie was still in the common room later that day when Danielle and Aleesha returned from their French written exam. Weslie was sitting along on the counter in the kitchen area, as Paul and Bolton had chosen to occupy one of the sofas. She was going over her music coursework and pretending Paul wasn't there when Danielle and Aleesha walked in.

'Ros McCain had the right idea' Danielle said as the two girls sat down 'wish I'd have gotten out of there sooner, I wouldn't have wasted my time'

'It's not like her to walk out of an exam; do you think she's alright?' Aleesha asked.

'Depends' Bolton said, from where he was sitting, throwing screwed up pieced of paper into the air for Paul to bat away with a rolled up magazine 'if you think never enjoying the company of a man makes you alright'

'Oh shut up man' Aleesha said, shaking her head dismissively.

'No it's true man' He said as Paul nodded beside him 'she's a lesbian int she' Weslie looked up from her coursework and she and Aleesha shared confused glances

'Ros?' Danielle asked, astounded, shaking her head at Aleesha 'give over, she's like the most boring person in the whole school'

'It's true' Paul interrupted 'she's been having it off with that Miss Lipsit; the pair of them had a lovers tiff in front of the year ten class, I'm telling 'yer' Weslie frowned, watching the four of them discussing Ros McCain, she had to agree with Danielle and Aleesha, it didn't sound anything like Ros.

She looked up just as Philip Ryan came in and asked 'any of you guys seen Ros?' the four of them looked around, dumbfounded and lost for words 'what?' he asked.

'Maybe we should ...' Aleesha said.

'Yeah just why …' Danielle added, and the two girls got up and left. Aleesha nodded at Weslie to come with them, but she shook her head as Paul and Bolton got up to follow them out. Philip looked at Weslie fleetingly before taking off after the boys. Weslie waited a moment before gathering her things and taking off to find Ros.

It wasn't hard as she knew where Ros was likely to be, and just a minute later, she found her outside the library 'Ros, are you okay?'

Ros was pacing across the corridor, her face blotchy from crying and she appeared to be in a panic 'I didn't mean to make her mad' she said, her voice quivering. She turned to Weslie 'you know what its like, when you love someone and they don't want you'

Weslie nodded, finding a lump in her throat 'yeah, I know, it hurts'

'What am I supposed to do?' she whispered, on the verge of crying.

Weslie sighed 'there's nothing you can do, I'm sorry Ros'

Ros's chest started to heave as she struggled to control her breathing 'I need to get out of here' she muttered, turning on her heel and walking away. Weslie took off after her, following her down the corridor and down a flight of stairs, at the bottom of which they found Philip, Paul, Bolton, Aleesha and Danielle, all talking about Miss Lipsit, who had been suspended.

'They've suspended her?' Ros asked, interrupting them. The five of them looked up at Ros on the stairs, Weslie a step behind her. Ros walked down the rest of the stairs, Weslie remained on the bottom step.

'That's what everyone's saying' Danielle said.

'That she might get the sack' Aleesha added, avoiding Ros's eye. Silence fell over the group as Ros looked around at them and eventually found Philips gaze 'Ros?' he said hopefully, he needed answers, and he needed them from his girlfriend.

Her lip started to quake 'I'm sorry' she said, before forcing her way through the group and running away down the corridor.

Paul looked around and caught Weslie's icy gaze. The two looked at each other for a moment that seemed to drag on for an age, before she turned and left, back up the stairs behind her, unable to be around him any longer.

'You're an idiot Paul' Bolton huffed angrily, walking away.

Paul sighed angrily and followed his friend 'not you too, the girls have been on at me about it for two days' he grumbled.

'And I wonder why! You've abandoned your pregnant girlfriend, its disgusting man!' Bolton spat, marching away from Paul.

'You don't know what it's like!' Paul argued 'you wanna try being in my situation, it's not so easy'

'Then tell me how it is! Cause from here it looks a lot like you being a coward man' Bolton snapped.

'It's terrifying! It's on my mind all the time, I don't know what to do with a baby, I've no idea how to be a dad, I can't do it!' he argued 'I'm scared Bolton, I'm really scared. What if I did stick around and I did it wrong? What if I'm a bad dad and the kid ends up messed up cause of me? What if it ends up like my mum and my uncle?' he said, confiding a fear in Bolton that he hadn't ever told anyone else about.

'That's no reason to walk away on her Paul, be a man and take responsibility for what you've done' Bolton hissed.

Paul sighed and ran a hand through his hair 'I can't' he muttered 'I just can't' Bolton glared at him, shook his head and walked away.

…

Weslie dropped her bag down on her bed and sighed, walking over to the bay window, she took a seat on the huge window ledge and gazed out of the window, watching one of the twins trotting around the garden on their horse. It was oddly quiet in their house, and after the day she had had, Weslie was glad of the quiet.

Not only had Ros accused Jo Lipsit of being inappropriate towards her, she had also trashed her classroom, and later admitted she had lied. Her parents had been brought in to help resolve the situation, which only made things worse when her father confronted Jo in the playground in the middle of a fire, after one of the stoves in the kitchen caught fire, though nothing was damaged.

Weslie was glad the whole thing was over, but obviously Ros was traumatised by the day's events and would likely be taking some time off.

Weslie looked around her room, which was barely recognisable to her anymore. It mirrored just how much her life had changed in the last few months. It was hardly her room anymore. One of her huge wardrobes was open, and stuffed full of clothes, vests, pyjama's, blankets, booties, caps, bibs and shoes for the baby. In the corner at the other end of the built in wardrobes was the cot her father had bought and built for her, ready for when the baby arrived, already fitted with a mattress, blanket, stuff toys and with a mobile hanging over the top.

The shelves on the opposite side of the room no longer held pictures of her and Paul, but now where full of empty bottles, dummies, baby toys and an expensive baby monitor. Next to her desk was a changing table, a bouncer and a play matt.

She sighed and got down from where she was sitting, walking over to her bed and picking a shirt up from on top of the pile of maternity clothes lying abandoned there. She shook her head as she ran it through her fingers, thinking about how much things had changed. She no longer spent all her money on clothes, shoes and other things for herself. Now she had to buy baby grows, bottles, nappies, baby wipes and other things her child needed.

She never thought when she first fell pregnant that her baby would need so much, but after yet another after school shopping trip, she had a shelf now filled with medicines, teething rings, cotton balls, nappy rash creams and all sorts of other things she had never considered before going into Boots and asking an assistant for help.

She had to admit now that it was time to grow up; she had to stop putting herself first and be a mother now. Because now it was imminent, it really was happening and it was only a matter of weeks away and whether Paul was with her or not, this was something she had to do.


	57. Chapter 57

It was Weslie's last day, which was something she was immensely grateful for. She was now over 8 months pregnant and should've left on maternity leave two weeks previously, but had been determined to sit all her exams before she did.

Every member of staff was on edge, fearful that Weslie could into labour at any moment, as medically she was now full term and birth could happen at any time. Paul was also aware of this, and it was on his mind, though he wouldn't let anyone know it was. Bolton had tried to talk to him about it, he knew Paul still cared deeply for Weslie, and despite his attitude he cared about his baby too. So Bolton had been trying to convince him they needed to be together and that when their baby came everything would be okay, and they wouldn't have to do it alone. But Paul was too scared to see things any other way than his own.

Bolton's anger with his friend had subsided; he knew he hadn't done any of it with any malice and he knew that in his own way, he really was doing what he thought was best for his child. And all Bolton could do now was wait for him to realise where he really wanted to be.

Weslie's last day was also Ros McCain's first back since her incident with Jo Lipsit, who was thankfully still employed, though her confidence had taken a minor knock from the whole saga with Ros. Paul and Bolton were also aware that Ros was back, and that her reappearance had affect Philip, who was still deeply hurt by what she had done to him, though they were very obviously no longer together.

'I don't know what I'm supposed to do' Ros sighed, sitting beside Weslie in their first lesson of the day. Across the room from them Philip was talking to Bolton and Paul about her.

'You don't have to do anything' Weslie reasoned, glaring at Philip, who had called Ros a lying, cheating lesbian cow to her face when she tried to make things okay with him, she still wanted to be friends with him 'you've apologised to him, he knows you didn't mean to hurt him, it's his problem if he wants to act like a baby now' she said.

'I didn't want any of this to happen, I just wish things were okay' she sighed, refusing to look at Philip.

'It's not your fault' Weslie said 'you can't help who you fall for anymore than you can stop the rain from falling, he just has to grow a pair and deal with it' she shrugged.

'But what if he never speaks to me again?'

'Then he's lost himself a really good friend, and it's only him who'll lose out, trust me' she smiled, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze.

'Do you really have to leave today?' Ros asked, she had been hoping Weslie would stay around a few days longer, as she could really do with her support.

Weslie laughed and looked down at her own stomach 'I should've left a fortnight ago, I'm due in two weeks and I'm the size of a block of flats' she laughed.

'I think you look lovely' Ros said, which made Weslie smile. Ros thought that being pregnant gave Weslie a certain glow, and that she looked beautifully healthy.

'Thanks Ros' Weslie muttered, embarrassed.

…

'I thought you were supposed to be at home' Danielle asked Weslie, who was idly browsing the internet on one of the computers at the back of the library.

'Today's my last day' she muttered, her words muffled as the hand her chin was resting on was half covering her mouth.

'You look massive' Danielle said.

Weslie laughed 'I am massive Danielle, I'm due in two weeks, I could go at any time' She looked up and saw Danielle and Aleesha look at each other, wide eyed and obviously worried about the risk of Weslie's going into labour there and then 'I'm not going to spit the baby out onto the floor now, don't worry' she laughed.

'Found you' Michaela said, appearing in front of them, dumping her bag onto an empty chair. The three of them looked up 'Ros McCain' she said, holding up the piece of paper in her hand 'Pros, and Cons. She's a great kisser; she's got beautiful eyes'

'What's this? Weslie asked.

'I found it' Michaela said 'in the common room'

'Who wrote it?' Danielle asked 'a girl?'

'Nope, her ex' Michaela said, turning the sheet around to show them the name scrawled in the top corner 'Philip Ryan'

'Aww, poor Philip' Danielle said.

'Aww, poor Philip' Michaela copied in a sarcastic tone 'crap. She's the only one in year 12 who won't end up working in a chip shop' she continued, reading from the list again.

'Excuse me!' Weslie exclaimed, slamming her hand down on the desk.

'No wait, there's more. She's naturally pretty, unlike the slappers she hangs around with. She's even nicer than those thick bimbo's on the netball team'

'Err, thick?' Danielle snapped, snatching the paper from Michaela to see for herself.

'Bimbos? Where's that?' Aleesha said.

'Right, there!' Michaela said pointing at the paper.

'Err what's this?' Weslie exclaimed, grabbing the paper to get a better look when she saw a word that angered here 'she's not stupid enough to go and get herself pregnant!'

'He's not getting away with this!' Danielle snapped.

'Who does he think he is?' Aleesha exclaimed.

Michaela smirked and dropped into a seat besides Danielle 'then let's show him what happens when you mess with us' she smirked. The girls all looked at each other, smirking and nodding.

…

The girls spent the remainder of their free lesson editing a picture of Philip, adding a pig snout and ears to it, photocopying the list he had made and making a poster, calling him a sexist pig for the things he had written, they then proceeded to post them all over the school, for everyone to see.

Weslie wasn't with the girls when Philip, Paul and Bolton first saw them, but he saw her later, and definitely wasn't going to let her participation in the hate campaign go unnoticed.

'Them, I can expect it from, but not you Weslie' he said approaching her where she was stuffing books into her locker.

She turned slowly and found Paul was with him, Bolton a short distance away talking to another boy. She looked at Paul for a second, hardly surprised to see him avoiding her eye ' 'she's not stupid enough to go and get herself pregnant' ' she echoed, reciting the line from the list.

'No – no, I um, I didn't-' he stammered.

'It's pretty obvious what you did Philip, who else could you have meant eh?' she asked, challenging him 'and you' she said to Paul, who looked up at her fearfully 'you actually let him write that?'

'I didn't know he did it!' Paul argued, taking a step back from her.

'You're a terrible liar!' she snapped 'we already knew you and Bolton put him up to it, no one else could come up with something this pathetic. And as for that childish comment, you weren't exactly complaining when we were sleeping together where you?' she snarled.

'Well I'm complaining now!' he snapped. Weslie drew her arm back and slapped Paul round the face with all the strength and anger she had in her. He staggered backwards and clutched his face, starring at her in shock 'I wish I'd never met you' she hissed, before turning and walking away, leaving him and Philip to stand and watch.

...

Weslie was sat alone at the back of the library when Danielle came to find her before their next lesson. She was still furious with Paul, but part of her was already regretting hitting him, it hadn't made her feel better, like she thought it would; it had only made her feel worse. She had hit him, but had achieved nothing by doing so.

'What're you doing here?' Danielle asked, marching over to her 'come on, we need you, we're having a debate'

'A debate?' Weslie asked, getting to her feet and following Danielle out. She didn't really care if they were debating or not, she just wanted the day to end so she could go home 'yeah' Danielle said 'about who's better, girls or boys'

She followed Danielle to Grantly Budgen's room, where most of the sixth form where already inside, taking seats on either side of the room, sitting with the rest of their respective gender. Grantly was sitting at the front of the room, Adam Fleet was with the boys and Rachel Mason was with the girls. Weslie chose to stand, rather than sit, and stood behind the girls, leaning against the wall behind her.

Much to Weslie's dismay, Grantly volunteered Paul to represent the boys. He stood up and started their argument, feebly, by saying that girls take a long time to get ready to leave the house, and that men are better athletes. Danielle countered by saying that Sam Kelly was the best basketball player.

They argued for a while, over who where better bread winners, the girls claiming that it depended on which career, whilst Bolton argued that men had even taken the school kitchen from the women, whilst Paul added that men get paid more than women. Weslie said nothing, but watched and rubbed the underside of her stomach, which was feeling tight and uncomfortable.

After Adam Fleet stated that Miss Mason was a woman and did her job very well, Danielle got to her feet and made a speech about women achieving positions of power in all industries, and them having to work even harder for it makes them better, as they're more determined.

Their argument then turned to emotions, and how women are able to talk about theirs, where as men bottle things up. Paul argued that they really meant women nag, and over analyze, where as men get on with it or take action. Philip Ryan interrupted to explain that he always over analyzes things, and Grantly reminded him he was a boy.

Then Ros got to her feet and made a speech that she didn't think men where better than women, just that women are better at understanding emotional problems, and that men can be immature and cruel sometimes. There was a silence after she spoke, as she and Philip looked at each other sadly before she sat down.

'If we're better at understanding stuff, then we're better at everything' Aleesha reasoned.

'Everything?' Bolton challenged, getting to his feet 'what about fighting?' he asked, Aleesha rolled her eyes 'girl can't go to war if she's got a baby on her hip can she?'

'If a woman didn't have a baby on her hip, there'd be no war to fight, because the human race would cease to exist!' Aleesha argued.

'And if there were no men, women couldn't have babies anyway!' Bolton exclaimed 'Look at Wes! If it weren't for Paul sleeping with her, she wouldn't be pregnant!' Both Weslie and Paul looked at Bolton, mortified.

'Oh dear god' Weslie groaned, hiding her face, embarrassed. The room was in uproar again, the two sides arguing over Bolton's comments, and Paul scolding him for what he had just said.

'Guys!' Miss Mason called, restoring order 'can't you see that-' she was interrupted as Weslie cried out in pain, doubled over and clutching her stomach, her eyes screwed shut. Paul stopped dead, unsure what he should do. Weslie cried out again, one of her hands coming forward to hold onto the back of the chair in front of her, every pair of eyes in the room on her.

Rachel was on her feet 'OUT!' she yelled 'all of you out now!' she demanded. She raced over to Weslie as the room emptied apart from Bolton, Weslie, Rachel, Adam and Paul.

'Weslie what is it?' Rachel asked once she reached her and had her arm around her. Bolton hovered on her other side, Adam just behind Rachel and Paul on the other side of the room, unsure of what he should do.

'I think its coming' she groaned, still clutching her stomach and moaning against the tight, sharp pains in her stomach.

'Get the nurse and call an ambulance' Rachel said to Adam, who almost ran from the room.

'Wes?' Paul asked, scared.

She looked up at him, gritting her teeth against the pain and glaring angrily at him as Rachel helped her down to sit on the floor 'get out!' she spat at him.

'But – I-' he started in a timid, frightened voice, watching her and she cried out in pain again, leaning forwards, her hands gripping Bolton's and Rachel's so tight her knuckles had gone white.

'GET AWAY!' she screamed at him.

'Paul, I think it'd be best if you leave please' Rachel pleaded with him; he was on the verge of tears. He swallowed hard and nodded, and looked at her one last time before he left, though he only went and stood on the other side of the door.

'I still love him' Weslie sobbed to Bolton, who was crouched beside her.

He nodded 'I know you do' he said sadly, a tight grip on her fingers. She sat quietly for a few minutes, her teeth clenched together against the pain as they waited for Adam to come back with the nurse.

Weslie sobbed in relief when she finally arrived and rushed over to her 'Okay, Weslie, I need to examine you, is that okay?' she asked, after Weslie had described the pain to her.

She nodded and held onto Bolton's hand tighter 'I'm really scared' she whispered to him, tears in the corners of her eyes.

'It's okay Wes, I'm gonna stay with you, I promise' he said.

She smiled weakly and nodded, closing her eyes as tears trickled down her cheeks.

'Don't get worked up too soon' the nurse was saying 'false alarm, it's just a fake labour. It's your body getting itself ready for the real thing' she smiled.

'You're sure?' Weslie asked weakly, looking down at her.

She nodded 'but let's get you to the hospital and get you checked out anyway' she said.

Weslie looked at Rachel, who nodded and smiled 'you had us panicked there, I think you can go on maternity leave now' she smiled. Weslie nodded and let out a huge sigh of relief.


	58. Chapter 58

_I loved writing this one, my favourite so far, easily. I hope you enjoy it too._

Weslie was sitting on her bed, flicking through endless TV channels, hardly paying any attention to what she was watching as she did. She had been home from school for almost two weeks, and was just two days away from her due date. She was finding being home from school wasn't as much fun as she thought it would be, as she was home alone most days and daytime TV was not nearly as entertaining as it should be.

Adding to that was her boredom with being pregnant, and she was now just wishing it over, as much as labour terrified her, she just wanted to have her baby and get her figure back.

She hadn't spoken to Paul since she left school, and refused to talk about him to anyone. She was still furious with him, but missed him immensely. She couldn't, no matter how hard she tried, forget how much she loved him. Bolton came to visit her almost every day after school, and kept her up to date with what was happening, and had made her promise to call him when she went into labour, no matter what the time.

There was a light knock on the door and Weslie looked up confused, she wasn't expecting anyone and as far as she had been aware, she was home alone 'come in' she said. The door creaked open and Thomas walked in, grinning at her 'Tom!' she exclaimed, getting up onto her knees and holding her arms out for him, he hugged her tightly 'what are you doing here?' she asked, beaming at him as they sat down on her bed.

'Well, Mum called this morning, and I found out you still haven't popped yet' she raised an eyebrow at him 'and my exams are done, so I thought I'd come home early and see you' he smiled.

'I thought you were going to China with your uni buddies though' she asked.

He smiled and shrugged 'I'd rather meet my niece or nephew' he said, patting her stomach 'which is a good point, how come you don't know the gender?'

'Couldn't tell' she grumbled 'baby wasn't in a good position'

Thomas laughed 'How typical, that could only happy to you' he joked.

'Yeah, you laugh it up' she said grumpily watching him laugh.

'You know I'm only playing' he said, hugging her again 'so, when did you plan on telling me you were going to be a single mother?' he asked, turning serious.

She shrugged, avoiding his gaze 'I dunno' she mumbled 'didn't seem important'

He scoffed 'don't give me that Wes, you know perfectly well that it is important' he sighed, watching her play with a stray thread on her dress, it was still weird to him, seeing her like this, it was something he'd never be used to 'what happened?'

She sighed deeply and shrugged again 'cold feet I guess' she said 'he got scared, says he can't do it, broke up with me' she explained, feeling oddly calm about it.

Thomas sighed too 'The sad thing is Wes, I can understand that. I remember when Ali thought she might've been pregnant, I was terrified, I can't imagine how scared he must've been knowing you were just weeks away from having his baby' he said.

She nodded 'I know, I know, and it makes sense. I mean, why wouldn't he be scared? He's only 17; no one wants to be a parent at this age'

'True' Tom nodded 'but neither of you have a choice. Whether he's around or not, he's still this baby's dad' he watched her for a moment, watched the way she seemed to be so calm despite of what was happening around her. On the other side of the room, Stotch was lay under the baby's cot, asleep 'are you going to try and get back with him?' he asked.

She shrugged again 'Maybe' she said 'I miss him, but I'm not exactly going to beg him to take us back, if he doesn't want me that's his choice. I want him to want our baby Tom' she sighed.

He smiled sympathetically and slipped his arm around her shoulders 'who wouldn't eh? I can promise you when that baby's born and he sees it, he isn't going to want to be anywhere else in the world'

'But what if he doesn't? She whispered, welling up with tears 'what if he means it? What if he really doesn't want us?'

'I don't know kiddo' he said, squeezing her shoulders 'all I do know is it'll probably hurt like hell, but you'll get through this, we'll get through this' he smiled down at her.

'You promise?' she asked.

He nodded 'I promise. And at the end of the day, you're going to have a beautiful baby that's all yours and that's going to love you unconditionally, I've heard that can feel pretty amazing' he smiled encouragingly.

She laughed and nodded, and then she felt something. A very strange sensation in her stomach, warm and also painful. It was a curious experience, as she had never felt anything like it before in her life, but she knew exactly what it meant. She looked down and saw what she expected, her waters had broken.

'Tom' she said in a very strange, high pitched voice 'we gotta go'

He frowned, then also looked down 'what'd you me- oh, oh shit, yeah, shit we gotta go!' he shouted jumping up from the bed and looking around the room frantically, as though expecting to find instructions posted on the wall for him.

'There! There!' she said, getting up and clutching her stomach as her first contraction hit her, pointing to the bag ready and waiting on the window seat.

'Okay I'm on it' he said breathlessly, grabbing the bag and crossing the room, yanking the door open and taking her arm as she started to walk out, still holding her stomach.

'You need to call Bolton' she said, breathing hard against the pain in her stomach, which was worse than she had expected, like a sharp increasing throbbing, that was getting more and more intense as she walked down stairs.

'I can call him from the-'

'CALL BOLTON!' she snapped at him, losing her temper as another wave of pain hit her 'Ahh I'm sorry' she moaned, clutching the hand rail half way down the stairs 'sorry Tom'

'No, no it's okay, come on, we've gotta get you to the hospital'

…

Four hours and a lot of pain relief later, Weslie was finally ready. She was sat up in one of the hospital beds in one of many delivery rooms, Bolton on one side of her and her brother on the other. Outside the door where the rest of her family and Candeece Smilie. Her sister and mother had both wanted to be with her when the baby was born, but the midwife insisted no more than two, and she wanted her brother and her best friend.

'Okay Weslie' her midwife was saying, from where she was stood at the foot of her bed 'Alright darling, I need another big push from you, are you ready?'

Weslie was panting from exhaustion, pain and fear. She had been in active labour for almost twenty minutes and felt as thought someone was trying to tear her open with a hot poker 'Okay' the midwife said, positioning herself 'push Weslie'

Weslie grit her teeth and screwed her eyes shut, pushing down with all her might. Her arms shaking with the effort of keeping herself upright, her muscles burning and begging to be left alone 'good Weslie! Push push push push!' she cried out and pushed, giving it everything she had, until it was too much and she gave in, panting hard.

'You're doing great Wes' Thomas smiled; though his fingers were aching she had been squeezing them that hard.

'You sure you don't want me to call Paul?' Bolton, who felt as though this was something Paul needed to see, asked. He was sure Paul would change his mind about everything if he saw her bringing his child into the world.

'No!' she panted 'I don't want him here Bolton' she said.

'Okay, I think we're ready for another, just a few more now okay?' the midwife said, she could tell baby had had enough and was ready to be born. Weslie looked down at her and nodded, determined to get it over with 'alright, I need you to give this your biggest push yet okay? Lets get baby's head out' Weslie nodded and positioned herself a little more comfortably 'alright Weslie, push!'

Again she clenched her teeth; held onto the hands in hers and pushed with everything she had, concentrating on nothing but the muscles in her crotch. Her body seemed to be burning and the pain of labour was more intense than she could've imagined, but she kept going, her mouth opened and she gasped for breath, she cried out as she pushed harder than she had done all night and felt the most incredible feeling she had ever felt as her baby's head emerged.

'Oh well done!' The midwife exclaimed, beaming 'there's the head, oh there it is!' she said. She opened her eyes and saw her brother and her best friend gazing down in awe 'okay, just one more, it's easy from here' the midwife smiled 'lets get ready okay ... and, push!'

Weslie pushed once again, her muscles searing with pain and fatigue as she pushed, this one came easier than the last and then before it had really registered, she heard a shrill, unhappy cry and saw the midwife stand up, holding her newborn baby. She had done it, she had actually done it.

'Oh my god man' Bolton whispered, stood up and staring at the tiny body in the arms of the midwife, who handed the scissors to Thomas to cut the umbilical cord 'it's a girl Wes' Bolton said, still starring 'it's a girl'

'A girl' she repeated in awe, starring at the tiny girl, who was still wailing and being wrapped up. She had a daughter. She watched as the midwife walked to her, holding the tiny bundle and leaned down, handing her to Weslie, who still couldn't quite believe it had actually happened.

She looked down at her and felt her heart completely overflow and swell. She was the most beautiful, perfect thing she had ever seen in her whole life. She had a beautiful button nose that was the same as Pauls and Weslie's green eyes, and was completely tiny. She felt tears leak from her eyes as she felt tiny fingers encircle one of her own. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Thomas leave the room to tell the rest of her family and Candeece what had happened.

'She's gorgeous Wes' Bolton said, leaning over her shoulder to look at her. She looked up at Bolton and nodded wearily, her body had been pushed beyond its limits and wanted to rest, but she wanted to stay awake and stare at her daughter forever 'here' she said, holding her out for Bolton.

'Serious?' he said, looking down at her in shock, he was sure she wouldn't be up for sharing the tiny girl any time soon.

She nodded 'sure, she's your god daughter, say hello to her' Bolton beamed and carefully took her from Weslie, cradling her in his arms, holding her close to his chest.

'Hello gorgeous girl' he whispered to her. She was looking up at him, but still whimpering 'you're so beautiful' he smiled. He looked down at Weslie 'so, what's her name?'

Weslie sighed in a very content way and smiled 'Emmery' she said 'Emmery Bolton Langley' she felt a small pang of pain when she said it, but she had decided long ago her baby was going to be a Langley, and even if he didn't want to know her, she felt her daughter should know who her father was.

'No way man, Emmery Bolton?' he laughed 'what a mint name'


	59. Chapter 59

_I'm on a roll today, and I've been working my figurative balls off. I don't know what's up with me. I'm just really in the mood to write today._

Weslie lay on her side in her bed, starring at the tiny face next to her. Emmery was lying on her back next to her mother, looking up at the hand that was being dangled in front of her face, poking her gently on the tip of her nose. She found she could lie forever just looking at her daughter, taking in every single inch of her features, and somehow that still wouldn't be enough for her. Her eyes scoured the tiny face hungrily, completely and utterly in love with her.

She adored every single thing about her. She was perfect. She had beautiful tiny little fingers and fingernails. Her feet and toes were just as tiny too, and her eyes looked huge and breathtaking as they stared up at her mothers' fingers.

Her family had all taken well to the arrival of the baby, including Stotch, who Weslie had been admittedly worried about. But the dog only seemed to find the new arrival very curious, and had a certain fondness of sniffing her whenever he got the chance.

One positive of having the baby, was that Weslie's relationship with her mother had greatly improved. The two were talking again and Sarah adored her granddaughter. James was also very interested in the baby, and didn't want to miss any opportunity to help Weslie to take care of her, and the twins just wanted to show her off to her friends. Amelia thought the baby was gorgeous, but was busy with work and didn't get to spend as much time at home with Weslie as she would've liked.

Weslie had never thought she could love anything as much as she loved her daughter, but it hadn't taken her long to realise being a mother was the most amazing feeling she had ever experienced, even more so than any time she had ever sung in her life. She smiled as she rang her finger across Emmery's cheek, sighing she was so happy when her baby gurgled.

There wasn't anything about Emmery she didn't love. She loved her smell, the feel of her fingers wrapped around her mothers, even the way she cried.

But still, she missed Paul, and she wished more than ever that he was there. She wished he was back with her, she wanted to feel his arms around her again, she wanted to kiss him and hear him tell her that he loved her the way he used to. But more than anything, she wanted him to feel the way she did about their daughter. She wanted him to know how beautiful their baby was.

The first night she came home with Emmery, she spent almost the whole night pacing up and down the living room whilst the baby slept in her Moses basket. She had paced backwards and forwards all night with the phone in her hand, dialling his number probably a thousand times over, before deleting it and putting the phone back up, only to pick it back up five minutes later.

She wanted Paul, but she didn't want him to know how much she needed him. She didn't want him to know he'd hurt her so badly, or how much she was missing him. If he was making out like it was okay, she felt like she needed to do the same. So she resisted the temptation to call him and acted like everything really was okay.

...

'He's taking Sambuca Kelly, to the prom?' Weslie asked, not sure if she'd actually heard Bolton correctly. She was pacing the living room again, rocking Emmery who was crying loudly 'are you sure?'

Bolton nodded 'definitely, I was there when she asked him' he said, playing with one of the baby's many bibs. The living room had always been messy since Emmery had arrived, and as usual was covered in clothes, blankets, toys and dummies.

'Oh she asked him?' She said, with a smirk playing on her lips 'at least he didn't ask her' she said. The prom was only two days away and Bolton had suggested to Weslie that she should go. She had said no, but was secretly considering it.

'They're just using each other' he said dismissively, obviously he still had feelings for Sambuca and wasn't happy that his best friend was taking her to the prom 'He's trying to pretend he doesn't love you …'

' … and she's trying to make you jealous' she finished for him, sighing with frustration and wishing Emmery would stop crying.

Bolton tutted and got to his feet 'give her here man' he said, holding his hands out to take the crying baby from Weslie, who sighed and sat down on the arm of the sofa, running her hands through her hair. She was still exhausted from giving birth just three days previously and was missing a decent night's sleep, as Emmery was waking at least twice during the nights to be fed.

Bolton took her and cradled her to his chest, smiling down at her, he was incredibly fond of his goddaughter already 'there we go' he said to her as she whimpered and stopped crying. Weslie looked up, shaking her head incredulously; she'd been trying to get her to stop crying for almost twenty minutes.

'As if' she laughed, shaking her head.

Bolton smirked 'she just likes me more than you' he joked. She laughed and made a start at tidying the mess up as Bolton sat down with the baby, talking to her and rubbing her stomach lightly 'are you gonna come to the prom?' Bolton asked a few minutes later.

'I don't know' she sighed, picking up dirty bibs that Emmery had thrown up on 'Maybe'

'You should' he said nodding, he was hoping if she went and Paul would see her and see that she'd had the baby, he'd want to see the baby and they'd eventually get back together 'we can go together' he suggested.

She laughed and shook her head 'You should be a man and tell Sambuca how you feel and take her instead' she said, smirking at him and looking at him from the corner of her eye. She saw him look up and the smile on his face drop.

'Nahh man' he said after a moment 'she's already got a date'

'Tell her Bolton' she said, straightening up and looking at him 'if it's like you say, and they're using each other, then tell her, he'll understand and she'll be made up you've admitted you want her' she smiled.

…

Thomas was washing bottles when he heard the door bell ring. He dried his hands and walked though, past Weslie sleeping on the sofa and Emmery awake in her Moses basket, to the front door. He pulled it open and found a brown haired woman he didn't know standing on the door step holding a bunch of flowers and a package wrapped in pink paper.

'Hi, I'm Miss Mason, I'm Weslie's head teacher' she said to him in a friendly manner.

'Oh hi' he said, stepping aside to let her in 'Come on, I'm Tom, I'm Weslie's brother. Come through, she's in the living room' he lead her in to the living room, where Weslie was still sleeping and leaned over to lightly shake her awake 'Wes' he whispered 'Wes, your teacher's here'

Weslie mumbled and stirred, then opened her eyes and sat up 'Hi Miss Mason' she yawned, moving her feet and nodding for Rachel to sit down.

'I'm sorry, I wouldn't have come if I'd known you were sleeping' she smiled.

Weslie shook her head 'don't worry about it, I'll sleep later' she said. Rachel thought that Weslie looked exhausted, but had that new mother glow about her that made her look fantastic.

'Well, these are from the staff' she said smiled, handing her the package and giving the flowers to Thomas, who took them into the kitchen to put them in a vase 'and, congratulations!' she grinned.

Weslie smiled 'Thanks Miss, you didn't have too' she said, taking the package from her 'do you mind if I unwrap it later?' she asked, putting it with a pile of freshly washed baby grows, Emmery was going through three or four a day.

Rachel shook her head 'of course not, how are you feeling?' she asked.

Weslie nodded, getting to her feet and walking over to where Emmery was still in her Moses basket 'Tried, and sore, but apart from that I feel fine' she said, picking her up. She smiled down at her daughter, feeling that familiar feeling of overwhelming love she got every time she looked at her 'Here' she said after a moment, passing her to Rachel, who hadn't expected it.

'Ooh!' she said, taking the baby from her 'Oh, wow, thank you' she said, looking down at Emmery, who was yawning and falling asleep 'oh Weslie, she's absolutely beautiful' she said breathlessly, admiring her. It was striking to see how much she looked like her father, though she had Weslie's eyes.

Weslie smiled 'Thanks Miss, she's pretty magnificent' she said proudly, admiring her daughter. It still hadn't registered with her properly yet that Emmery was here and she was actually a mother. Every time she woke in the morning, for a few seconds she half expected to find herself still pregnant, then she remembered what had happened and that there was a tiny person in the room with her.

'Has Paul seen her?' Weslie face fell.

'No' she said, looking down 'He doesn't know I've had her' she sighed. Rachel looked up at her, silently questioning her decision 'I'd like to tell him in my own time Miss Mason, so please, please don't tell him' she added, reading Rachel's expression easily.

Rachel sighed 'he does deserve to know Weslie, she is his daughter too, and you need to tell him'

She nodded, starring down at the floor 'I will, when I'm ready, I promise miss' Rachel smiled at her again.

'Good' she said 'He'll do the right Weslie, I have faith in him'


	60. Chapter 60

_Last chapter. So Thanks a whole lot for reading and sticking with me until the very end, I honestly can't thank you enough. Thanks for your support, your reviews and you approval. And thank you very very much to Bethy63, for tweeting about my story and getting me more readers, I can't explain how blown away I was when I found out my work had been tweeted about. _

_I thought I'd start our last chapter with something I'm rather fond of, so I have some Greek Mythology for you._

"_According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs and a head with 2 faces._

_Fearing their power Zeus spilt them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves"_

It was Paul's last day at Waterloo Road, and it had occurred to him that a huge chapter of his life was now over. He'd been through a lot at Waterloo Road. He'd met his best friend, fallen in love and become a parent. But now he needed to move on from there and onto the next part of his life, wherever that may be. But before that, he had to attend the prom.

He was standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom, the one that he'd only put up because Weslie complained about him not having one whenever she stayed over. He starred at himself, not even sure what he was seeing. He wasn't even sure how he had managed to get himself dressed and ready for the prom, as his mind was vastly pre occupied.

He'd been unable to think about anything but Weslie for days. He wanted to see her and speak to her. He was missing her, almost pinning for her. And he knew she must've given birth. He knew the dates, and she was five days overdue if she hadn't. He needed to know.

He'd asked anyone who could've known, but no one would tell him, not even Bolton, who he knew had been to see her more than once and definitely knew what was going on. It was killing him inside, tearing at his innards constantly to be kept in the dark when the love of his life was now probably the mother of his child. And he was ashamed to admit he still didn't know his baby's gender.

He looked down at the desk in front of him. Looking at the framed pictures he had never taken down. Their scans, their baby. He picked the 3D scan up and smiled at it, gazing at the tiny face and wishing he could see more of it. He ran a finger across the glass, across the face, trying to feel closer to his baby.

He sighed and put it down, looking as he did at the framed picture of Weslie, who had been only six months pregnant at the time. Standing in the middle of the maths corridor wearing her uniform, looking a little odd in pants, which she had only adopted when she fell pregnant, putting up peace signs and grinning broadly. She was more beautiful than he remembered.

He knew what an idiot he'd been. He also knew how lucky he was in the first place. A family had always been the one thing he'd wanted, more than anything. And Weslie was giving that to him. It would've been magical, something that was utterly his, something no one could ever take from him. He knew it wouldn't bring her back, but it'd make the pain of his mother's death lessen.

He sighed and looked down at his watch. It was time for him to leave, to go to the prom.

He was glad he was actually going alone, after being asked by Sambuca Kelly. He didn't want to go with her, and he definitely wasn't interested in her. He'd only agreed to go with her because he didn't want anyone to know how much he was missing Weslie. It was far easier to pretend everything was okay, than to admit it was all wrong.

He thought about it in the back of his limousine on the way to the school. He'd known all along that Bolton cared for Sam, but he found it oddly comforting to know that he wasn't the only person in Waterloo Road suffering. He was relieved when Bolton talked to him about it earlier that day, finally confessing what he felt for Sambuca and telling Paul that he did indeed want to take her.

But he'd also talked about Weslie.

'_You need to be with Weslie man' he said to him, looking him dead in the eye 'Just go see her, I know you still love her, just stop kidding yourself' _

_Paul sighed and shook his head 'Don't be an idiot, if I want to go see her I would, I told you, we're over' _

_Bolton scoffed and shook his head 'whatever man, lie to yourself all you like, it won't change anything' _

Bolton was right of course. And there had been little point lying to him, but still he did. He knew Bolton could see right through him, they had been friends far too long for him not to be able to see through such a feeble lie.

He was glad of the scenery change when he finally got to the school and found the hall was already full of people dancing with friends and partners, enjoying themselves. He soon found the rest of the sixth formers and put on a smile for them, pretending like it was all okay. He danced with them, joked and had fun. All the while wishing Weslie was there with him.

He smiled when he finally saw Bolton arriving with Sam, who looked lovely in a long pale dress. He was happy his friend was with girl he wanted.

Despite his worries and anxieties, Paul did have some fun. He danced with Karla and posed for pictures with the others, even joining them in cheering when Steph Haydock kissed Mr Mead's father. He watched as soon after Jo Lipsit announced Sam and Bolton to be the prom king and queen. He cheered them with the crowed, clapping.

'Excuse me Miss Lipsit' a voice no one had heard in weeks spoke up from the doorway. Every head in the hall turned to see Weslie standing there, dressed ready for the prom, and though she looked tired, she had a certain glow to her that made her appear more beautiful than ever 'I have something to say' she said. She looked beautiful, wearing a pale purple flowery patterned maxi dress that hung close to her figure, which was completely hers again and she looked as though she'd never been pregnant.

Paul pushed his way through the crowd of people to see her, breathing hard with desperation to see her face again. He came to a stop standing ten feet in front of her, with nothing between the two of them, staring at her in disbelief. He'd never seen her look so beautiful.

She swallowed hard, looking at him wasn't easy, despite the fact they had been apart a month 'you have a daughter' she said.

Paul's breath caught in his throat and the people closest to him heard him gasp 'Her name is Emmery Bolton Langley. She's five days old and she looks just like you' she smiled 'she's breath taking Paul' she whispered.

'She's a Langley?' Paul repeated in a barely audible whisper.

Weslie nodded 'Yes. And she's outside with my brother, if you'd like to meet her?'

He nodded, his throat dry and unable to take his eyes off Weslie. His heart was hammering against his chest and his brain was rushing to process what was happening 'Please, I want to see her'

Weslie nodded and turned around; she walked out to the main doors and gestured to her brother, who had been stood outside by his car, then walked back into the hall. A moment later, her brother walked in behind her, carrying a tiny bundle in his arms. He walked to Paul, who was experiencing a cascade of emotions and handed her to him, placing her gently in his arms. He starred down at the tiny person and felt an overwhelming rush of love so powerful that he couldn't believe he had ever been scared of being her father.

She was the most beautiful, perfect and fragile little creature he had ever seen in his entire life, and it took him less than a second to decide he was going to spend the rest of his life loving and protecting her 'she's beautiful' he whispered, still gazing down at her in awe, his eyes searching her face hungrily.

'And she's yours for the rest of your life, if you want her' Weslie whispered, taking a few steps closer to him. She was close to tears, and wanted nothing more than for Paul to want their daughter. She still loved and wanted him, but now her child was her priority and she wanted her to have a father that loved her, even if that meant she could never be with him again.

He looked up at Weslie, tears in his eyes and nodded 'I do. I do, I want her so much' he said, his voice thick as he held back the tears. Weslie smiled, her bottom lip trembling as she fought the urge to cry and nodded, looking down, every beat of heart was painful for her 'I want you both' he said. Weslie looked up at him in disbelief, she wasn't even sure she'd heard him say it.

'I love you Wes, I've always loved you and I want to be with you' he whispered, walking to her 'I'm so sorry. I know I was being stupid, I was just scared, I didn't want to let her down' he said, glancing at the tiny girl in his arms.

Weslie shook her head 'it doesn't matter. You're here now' she smiled.

Paul smiled too and nodded 'I love you so much'

'I love you too Paul'

…

When he looked back even years later. Paul knew that that was the best night of his life. It felt as though his whole life had come together perfectly that night, and he just knew from then on, it would all be okay.

In just one night, he had met the most important person in this whole life, and got back the only girl he would ever love, and it was perfect.

Emmery had stayed for a short while, whilst everyone had a look and a hold, then Thomas took her home so Weslie could stay at the prom and have one last night with all her friends. Paul unable to believe his luck as he wrapped his arms around Weslie and danced slowly with her.

They danced with their friends, posed for pictures and said their goodbyes. They would all see each other again of course, but not like this, and it wouldn't ever be the same again for any of them.

And then once it was over. Paul and Weslie went home. They went back to Weslie's house, where they were reunited with their daughter, and where they started the rest of their life together.


	61. Epilogue

**5 Years Later**

Paul Langley heard the doorbell ring 'Door!' he called, hoping Weslie would get it. He continued working, then heard it ring again a moment later 'Weslie!' he yelled 'The door!' but still nothing, and a moment later, it rang again. He sighed and shut his laptop, getting up; he jogged down the stairs and pulled the door open, finding himself face to face with his best friend, Bolton Smilie.

'Alright mate' he said, smiling and stepping aside to let him in 'thought you were coming at ten?' he asked.

Bolton nodded 'Yeah and it is ten' he said.

'Shit' Paul mumbled, looking down at his watch 'so it is, we better get a move on then. Weslie!' he shouted, walking through to the back of the house, Bolton behind him. He smirked to himself when they passed the TV in the living room which was still switched on; one of Weslie's video's playing on whatever music channel had been left on.

After giving birth, Weslie had taken a year out to take care of her daughter whilst Paul enrolled at university. Once Emmery was a year old, Weslie also enrolled in University, only to sign a record deal, release three singles and an album within her first six months there. She took time off for a month long UK tour and never went back, having finally made it.

Paul had stayed on at university and studied for three years to become a graphic designer. He had graduated two years previously and had earned himself quite a reputation after doing the art work for Weslie's third album, and had worked on several other big projects, making a name for himself.

Paul finally found his wife in the kitchen with their daughter, who was stubbornly refusing to eat her breakfast 'I don't waaaant it!' she protested, shoving the bowl away from her.

'You have to have it, so just eat it then we can go okay?' Weslie said, getting frustrated with her toddler.

'Bolton!' She exclaimed, looking up and finding her godfather and her father in the room. She dropped down out of her chair and bounded over to him, throwing herself into his arms.

'Hey Ems' he said, kissing her on the head and hugging her 'how's my favourite girl?' he asked. She beamed at him and nodded.

'She's a madam' Weslie said 'and a naughty one at that'

Bolton sighed and gave Emmery a serious look 'Come on little B' he said, referring to her middle name 'eat your breakfast up for me okay?' he asked.

'Oh, okay' she said, squirming out of his arms and back over to her seat, where she took her spoon from her mother and started to eat her cereal.

'You're a life saver' Weslie said, getting up and walking out past Bolton, leaving Emmery to eat as Stotch trotted into the kitchen to sit with her. Stotch adored Emmery a thousand more than he had ever loved Weslie and would spend days on end playing with her, and refused to sleep anywhere other than on the floor at the foot of her bed.

'Nahh, she just knows the score with me' he grinned; Bolton was extremely fond of Emmery and treated her as though she were his own family.

Weslie laughed 'No, she's just mad enough to idolise you' she said, shaking her head.

'Babe it's gone ten, we really need to go' Paul said, nodding at the clock. Weslie looked down at her watch and groaned, she was always running late since Emmery was born.

'Well, I'll just have to go like this then' she said, gesturing to the dress and cardigan she was wearing 'I'll just go find some shoes'

A short drive later, and after dropping Emmery off at her Aunt Mia's, Paul pulled into the car park of Waterloo Road, a place neither he, his wife nor his best friend had visited for five years. Though as they looked up at the building, it felt oddly familiar to them, as though they had never been away.

'Yes, Yes I'm aware of that, but I still don't think I can right now' Weslie was saying, her phone clasped to the side of her head, talking to her manager and climbing out of Paul's car.

Paul looked at Bolton and rolled his eyes, the two friends stifling laughter 'because I don't think it's fair on either of them' she was saying, they heard the voice on the other end talking, but Weslie interrupted 'Look, I'm here now so I'll have to call you later and we'll talk about it then' she said before muttering a goodbye and hanging up.

'American tour again?' Paul asked, holding his hand out for her, which she took. Her manager had been trying to convince her to tour the states again, but she didn't feel she could leave Emmery for six weeks. Her last tour of the states had been nearly two years previously and being away from Paul and Emmery for so long was like torture to her.

'Yeah' she sighed, shaking her head 'thing is, if I do that, then he'll wanna tour Europe, then Asia, and before you know it I'm away from home for six months, and there's no way I can leave Emmery for that long'

Paul smiled and leaned in to kiss her 'we'll work it out' he said. She smiled at him and nodded. She gazed at him, still completely in love with him and so proud to be his wife, she couldn't ask for a better husband.

'Well, well, well, would you look who it is' they heard Christopher Mead call from the main door way, smiling down at the ex pupils 'and you're late' he joked.

Weslie laughed as they walked up the steps to him and the boys shook his hand, Weslie hugging him briefly 'Sorry sir, but you wanna try having a moody five year old'

'Don't worry about it' he smiled, stepping aside to let them inside 'the others are all here, in the hall. And don't call me sir!' he said.

In the hall, they found the rest of their former year group, all their friends back in the same place together after five years apart. It felt odd to see everyone back in Waterloo Road once again, but it was striking to see how much everyone had changed.

Weslie smiled when she saw Danielle Harker, now a fashion model and mother to a year old baby boy. With her was Aleesha Dillon, photographer. At the other side of the room Ros McCain, international lawyer, walking talking to Karla Bentham, vet, and Philip Ryan, gentleman's magazine editor. Alone at the back of the room was Michaela White, on the phone to employees of the security company she had set up herself was still successfully running.

Then there was Paul, Graphic designer, Bolton, fitness instructor, and Weslie, musician, singer and the current face on topshop. Mega star, what she had always wanted.

…

And the end of the day when they arrived home after spending the day happily catching up with their friends and having a tour around the school (Weslie had to stop to pose for pictures and sign scraps or paper over a dozen times), it occurred to Weslie that in just the five years since she had left Waterloo Road, she and Paul had grown and changed more than they could've ever guessed they would.

They were parents, they had married and were both happy in successful careers, and often she had to remind herself that she was still just 22 years old.

Her life now felt a whole world away from what it had been when she first started Waterloo Road, and she remembered how she had felt on that first day at the school. How much she had resented her parents for sending her there, and how much she had dreaded it.

When ironically it was the place at which she had truly discovered who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. Waterloo Road had shaped her in many ways, and given her the most precious gifts she had. It gave her her husband, the best friends she could ever ask for and had put her back on the right career track. It taught her more about herself than anyone or anything had ever done before or since, and it was where she had really started to live her life.

Waterloo Road had changed her and shaped her into the women she was now. And she couldn't be more thankful for that.

Fin.

_There's your proper end. It really is all over, and I think I've managed to bring it to a nice, neat close there. I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you eternally for sticking with me all this way. _

_This is the longest story I've ever written, and it's also the hardest too, and I'm most proud of it. I had some wobbly moments back there, so thank you for you patience with me. I'm exhausted now! Writing isn't always as easy as you'd think and I put every ounce of effort I had into this, so to know it was loved means the world to me, once again. Thank you =]_

_P.S 'Gentleman's magazine editor does NOT mean porn before someone asks. I was thinking more Zoo, or Nuts magazine. A career I feel very fitting for Philip. & Anyone after a few more details about Wes and Paul in the years after this epilogue, message me and I'll happily let you know, as I couldn't manage to fit them in._


End file.
